The Power of Ten
by Nelinde A
Summary: Three years after Weirdmageddon, Dipper and Mabel finally return to Gravity Falls and reunite with all their friends. But when a new threat comes to the town, the ten people on Bill's zodiac wheel realize their purpose has not yet been fulfilled.
1. Chapter 1-Back Where We Belong

"I see the water tower!" Mabel said, excitedly bouncing in her seat. She might be almost sixteen, but she never seemed to remember that. "Wow, and Robbie's graffiti is still there. I guess no one wanted to climb up and get rid of it."

"Uh-huh," Dipper said, not looking up from Journal 3.

Mabel looked at him. "Oh my gosh, Dipper, you've read that thing a gazillion times. What could possibly be in there that you haven't found yet?"

"I'm just refreshing my memory," Dipper said. "I haven't read much of it since we left last time." Three years ago had been the most incredible and weird summer of their lives, and when Dipper and his twin Mabel went home to ordinary old California at the end, they'd didn't know how they'd ever readjust. But somehow, though neither wanted to admit it, real life had readjusted them all by itself, and while they kept in contact with the friends they'd made in Gravity Falls, they didn't relive their old memories as much as they'd expected to. Of course their experiences had changed them. Their parents commented on how much they'd matured over three months. Mabel had a pig now, and Dipper was even more fascinated with scientific theories than usual. And the following summer, they begged to return. Unfortunately that hadn't worked out because their mother's parents came to stay with them, and the summer after that Dipper got a summer internship, and Mabel refused to go without him. And of course there was the issue of their great uncles Stan and Ford, who were still sailing around the world.

But this year, finally, there were no visiting grandparents, no one had any internships, and the original Pines twins were back from their travels, for a while anyways.

When the bus finally pulled up at the spot where they'd left their friends last time, Mabel bounded out eagerly. "Look Waddles, we're back!" she cried, holding up her pig while Dipper struggled with her luggage as well as his.

"Mabel!" a familiar voice cried.

Mabel turned and gave a little shriek as she ran into Stan's arms. "Grunkle Stan! I missed you!"

"I missed you too, sweetie," he said, and then grabbed her brother in a bear hug as well as Dipper finally got all the luggage out of the bus. "Hey Dipper. Good to see you."

"You too, Grunkle Stan," Dipper said. He wondered if Mabel felt the same sense of completeness as he did to finally be back.

"My brother's back at the Shack," Stan said, as they walked to his car. He rolled his eyes. "You'll find he hasn't changed much. We got here two and half weeks ago and the first thing he did was start compiling his research."

"Ooh, did you guys see lots of weird things?" Mabel asked. She got in the car and hugged her pet.

"A few, yeah," Stan replied. He helped Dipper load their suitcases into the trunk and then got in the driver's seat. "Turns out Narwhals actually do exist."

"Yeah, those…those aren't supernatural creatures," Dipper said.

"I don't know," Stan said. "They certainly looked like it. And Ford called them unicorns of the sea, so…"

"Oh, unicorns," Mabel scoffed. "They're not as impressive as they'd like you to think."

"But I'm sure Ford will tell you everything you want to hear about us," Stan said. "What have you two been up to?"

That was all Mabel needed to start talking a mile a minute, with Dipper interrupting her as often as he could to insert his own comments. Stan didn't pay attention to too much of it, but he was glad. He'd seen them getting off the bus and almost hadn't recognized them; they looked so much more grown up. But now listening to them, he knew they were still the same children he'd thought about every day while on his travels.

"The town seems emptier than I remember," Mabel said. "Is it emptier?"

"Not that I know of," Stan said, as he pulled onto the road leading to the Mystery Shack. "Towns like these…they don't change much. Even an apocalyptic event hosted by demons doesn't really make people feel like leaving."

Dipper and Mabel didn't reply. Because the Mystery Shack, the old, familiar, comforting ramshackle hut, had come into view from behind the trees. They jumped out almost before Stan had stopped the car, and gaped up at it. It looked exactly the same. They almost couldn't believe it. Stan too, had looked maybe a little more stooped and wrinkly, but he was already so much so that they registered him as looking exactly the same. It was as if they'd never left.

"Your stuff can stay in the car for now," Stan said. "Why should I carry it when I've got a handyman?"

"I thought Soos was promoted," Mabel said.

"Don't remind him," Stan said. "When I got back, he seemed to be under the impression that I was his boss again." He started pushing the two towards the Shack. "Well come on, don't you remember how doors work?"

They didn't need a second invitation. They ran up the steps, and threw open the door, only to reveal total blackness. They stood there for a second, trying to figure out the reason.

And then suddenly, the lights came on and there was a loud cry of "surprise!" as Mabel realized why the town had looked so empty. All of their friends were right here: Ford, Soos, Candy and Grenda, Wendy and her group of friends, McGucket, Blubs and Durland, and so many others that they were too overwhelmed to take notice of right away.

"You guys!" Mabel cried. "You shouldn't have!" She leaned over to Stan and whispered "I'm so glad they did!"

Soos was the first one to get to the twins. He grabbed them both and said "Welcome back dudes! Man, this summer's gonna be awesome!"

He finally had to let them go because Candy and Grenda came over to attack Mabel, and Wendy was waiting to punch Dipper's shoulder. "Hey, man," she said. She was wearing his pine tree hat that she'd traded her aviator hat for. "It's been too long."

"I know, seriously," he said, and then caught notice of Pacifica hanging back uncomfortably.

He gave her a brief smile, and she returned it and shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hi, Dipper." He could still detect snobbiness in her voice, but at least the first thing to come out of her mouth had been polite.

As soon as Candy and Grenda let Mabel out of their hug, Mabel made her way to Ford and hugged him too. "Grunkle Ford, it's so great to see you!"

"Look at you, Mabel," he said. "You're not a little girl anymore, you're a beautiful young lady!" He turned to Dipper, who had come over as well. "And Dipper, you've gotten so tall! Don't hide away from the ladies too much, or they'll be missing out."

Dipper grinned as Stan walked up and said, "Oh please, Ford, they've got big enough heads as it is." He jerked his thumb towards the young girl standing next to him. She looked to be about twenty years old, wore faintly green gloves, and had black hair and dark blue eyes. "Kids, this is Violetta. Wendy says I'm supposed to introduce her since this is her replacement after she leaves for college in the fall."

"Hi," Violetta said, shaking their hands. "Dipper, Mabel, it's great to finally meet you. You two are quite the celebrities here!"

"All right dudes," Soos called to the crowd. "Are you ready to get this party started?"

As the group cheered their affirmative, Mabel glanced at Dipper and gave him the biggest smile she was capable of. He knew how she felt, because he was having the same thought, and had been since the minute they arrived.

They were back where they belonged.

A/N Hey peeps! I avoid fanfiction normally, but something recently possessed me to read some Gravity Falls fanfiction, and then to write some of my own… You can review me if you so choose, and tell me how I'm doing. Expect updates every few days!


	2. Chapter 2-Violetta

Chapter 2-Violetta

Dipper was again standing in Bill's pyramid, watching his friends turn into tapestries and his uncles imprisoned. Bill had snatched Mabel up, and now was reaching out to grab Dipper. "I'm coming for you, Pine Tree!" he cried. "You can't defeat me!"

Dipper woke up in a sweat, breathing heavily. He looked across the room to Mabel, and was relieved to see her there, safe. The attic was once again their room, since there wasn't anywhere else. Stan had moved back into his bedroom, Ford took the spare room, and Soos had the couch, since technically this was still his house. Dipper glanced at the window and saw that the sun was beginning to come up. It was light enough to get up. By the time he wandered downstairs and into the gift shop, the sun was fully streaming light through the windows. To Dipper's surprise, Violetta was already there, picking a jacket up off the counter.

"Oh, hi Dipper!" she said, with a wave. Dipper noticed she was wearing light blue gloves today. "Sorry to come by so early. I just left my jacket here last night." She gave an apologetic giggle and said, "I didn't even use it. This is the time of year where I haven't fully realized it's warm enough to put my jackets away for a while."

"Is that why you're still wearing gloves?" Dipper asked.

"Oh, these aren't for warmth, they're just a fashion choice," Violetta said. She shrugged. "Silly, I suppose. Fashion isn't my strong suit."

"I wouldn't know, but you look nice to me," Dipper said. And he meant it. Yesterday she'd been wearing a pale green dress that twirled even when she didn't move that much, and today it was a puffy white blouse on top of a long blue skirt. He'd never seen anyone dress like her.

"I appreciate that," Violetta said. "Well, I don't have to come in until later this afternoon, so I'll see you then?"

Dipper waved as she walked out the door, and then he turned and went to the kitchen. The rest of his family was there by then. Ford was reading the newspaper, Stan was standing with a cup of coffee like a zombie, and Mabel was cheering on Soos as he devoured what looked to be about 30 frozen waffles at once. Dipper grabbed some cereal and began eating it. "Do you have any plans today, Mabel?" he asked.

"I was going to go through the town and see if everything's the way I remember," she said. "Want to come?"

"You bet," he said. "Can we take the car, Grunkle Stan?"

Stan seemed about to answer, but Ford suddenly put his paper down. "Aren't you still fifteen?"

"Well yeah, but—"

"Then I think that answers that," Ford said.

Stan shrugged. "Sorry, Dipper, but I guess you'll have to settle for the golf cart. Just try not to break another one."

"Don't worry," Mabel said. "I'll drive it this time."

"Then why shouldn't I worry?" Stan asked, but he handed her the keys all the same.

Soos tagged along, and all three thoroughly enjoyed their tour of the town, though of course Soos had lived there all his life. Mabel was pleased to see that Stan was right about the town virtually having no changes. By the time they got back to the Shack, it was mid-afternoon, and Wendy and Violetta were in the gift shop. When they walked in, Wendy glanced up from her magazine and took her feet off the counter. "Hey!" she said. "Want to bust out of this joint and go monster hunting?"

Dipper was instantly reminded of his nightmare the previous night, and Mabel also looked worried. Wendy frowned. "Woah, you guys, no need for those faces, I was kidding," she said. "I got banned from leaving before my shift's over, because we actually get customers now."

"Oh Wendy, I'm so sorry!" Mabel said.

"Nah, it's actually not that bad since Violetta came," Wendy said.

"Yeah, she's _supposed_ to be showing me the ropes," Violetta said, as she swept the floor. "But there wasn't a lot to learn, so I pretty much took over." She made a face, but she couldn't help smiling as well. Dipper and Mabel smiled back.

"So how long have you lived in Gravity Falls?" Mabel asked.

"Oh, always," Violetta said. "Coincidentally though, the summer you guys were here and everything went all Weirdmageddon-y? I was in Germany for educational purposes."

"Wow," Dipper said. "Lucky break."

"Not lucky!" Violetta said. "Nothing monumental ever happens in this town, but I leave for one little summer and suddenly monster hunting is a daily occurrence!"

Wendy snickered. "Yeah, now we just call her The Girl Who Wasn't Here When the World Almost Ended."

"I thought we settled on The Girl with the Motorcycle," Soos said.

"Woah!" Mabel said. "You have a motorcycle?"

"Oh, yeah," Wendy said. "That's why she's still awesome even though she missed the apocalypse."

"Okay, we get it, I'm not as special as the rest of you because I didn't live through the end times," Violetta said. She winked at Mabel. "But yes, I do have a motorcycle. You want a ride on it?"

"Yes!" Mabel cried, almost before Violetta had finished asking.

Violetta nodded. "I'll bring it in tomorrow. I'm not allowed to leave my shift early, either."

Mabel didn't even have to look out for Violetta the following day, because everyone could hear the motorcycle racing through the trees. Mabel ran outside and caught the helmet tossed at her. "Hop on," Violetta said. "I still have to take your brother, too."

Mabel had never felt anything so exhilarating, and she'd ridden in a walking Mystery Shack, swung from a grappling hook, and hovered in the air during a time where Stan was messing with the gravity. Of course during all those times, death had seemed inevitable, but Mabel trusted Violetta to keep her on top of this speeding machine.

Literally speeding, because presently the police pulled her over. Both girls were giggling, and had difficulty stopping even when Sheriff Blubs asked "Violetta, didn't you see the speed limit sign?"

"Yes, officer, I did," Violetta said, biting her still trembling lip. "I just didn't see _you_."

Mabel snorted and had to turn away. But Blubs just looked at Durland. "Well, it wasn't really her fault if she didn't see us," he said.  
"I'm sure she would have slowed down if she'd seen us," Durland said.

Blubs nodded, and touched the brim of his hat. "Carry on, Miss, and have a nice day."

"Thank you," Violetta said, and she and Mabel began laughing anew and she drove away. "Oh man," she gasped. "We really need better police in this town."

Then it was Dipper's turn, and he enjoyed it just as much as Mabel, though he didn't vocalize it as much. Violetta drove up the mountain and stopped at the top so they could look over the town. Dipper pulled off his helmet and gazed down. "Wow," he said softly. "I can never get over this view."

Violetta nodded. "I want to thank your family for saving this town," she said. "I may verbally abuse it, but truthfully I don't know what I'd do without it."

"Yeah," Dipper breathed. He looked at her. "You've really always lived here? I mean, no offense, but when we were here last time no one mentioned you."

Violetta nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I sort of hide myself away, so though everyone knows who I am, I'm not the kind of person you'd mention in a conversation. But Soos found me when I visited the shack one day, and he liked me because I'd let him ramble on about you and your sister. When Wendy announced that she was going to college next year, Soos asked Stan if he could hire me as her replacement, and that's why I'm there now."

Dipper pondered this as Violetta began to ride back down the mountain. He wanted to like her, but he'd just re-read the page in his Journal that said to trust no one. And though he felt that the people he knew were trustworthy, could he really trust this girl he'd never heard of?


	3. Chapter 3-Monster Hunting

Dipper again woke up in a sweat. He'd lost count of how many days dreams of Bill had woken him up, but it was certainly turning into weeks by now.

"Dipper," Mabel whispered. He turned and saw her pale face staring out at him. "I had a dream…about Bill…he was torturing us again, and…" she stopped.

"Really?" Dipper sat up. "Have you had that dream before?"

"Only after we arrived," Mabel said. "And nearly every night since."

"Okay," Dipper said. "Okay. This is nothing to worry about. I mean the same thing's been happening to me, but—"

"What?" Mabel sat up as well. "The same thing?"

"Yeah, but I mean, let's just think about this," Dipper said. "The last time we were here, Bill was the threat, Bill made Weirdmageddon, and defeating Bill was our main focus. We're probably just a little gun-shy at being in the same place again."

"So…" Mabel said. "So we take up Wendy's offer to go monster hunting?"

Dipper grinned. "I think that would be a good start." He lay down again. "Go back to sleep, Mabel. Good night."

"Good night, Dipper," she replied.

After breakfast the next morning, the first thing the twins did was go to the gift shop to find Wendy. She was rubbing her eyes. "Man, I got like no sleep last night," she complained.

"Partying will do that to you," Violetta informed her.

"I wasn't partying, I was at home by myself!" Wendy protested.

"Hey Wendy, you want to go monster hunting today?" Dipper asked.

Wendy raised an eyebrow. "I thought you drips didn't like that idea."

"I do!" Soos said, coming in. "I want to go monster hunting!"

Wendy picked up a magazine and opened it. "Well, I'd love to, but remember I can't just leave whenever I want to anymore."

"Says who?" Soos gasped in outrage.

Wendy lifted only her eyes. "Says you, boss."

"That's right!" Soos said. "Well I hereby decree that you are now allowed to leave whenever you want to."

"Awesome!" Wendy said, tossing her magazine in Violetta's face. "Oh, sorry V. Hey, do you wanna come? And see what a real monster looks like?"

"I think I'm looking at one," Violetta said smoothly.

"Oh, snap!" Soos cried, and the twins giggled.

Wendy laughed as well. "Fine, but don't make me look bad when running the show by yourself."

Stan walked in. "Woah, hey, where are you kids going?"

"Monster hunting," they all said at once.

Stan took another sip of his coffee. "Well, I'm sure the town would appreciate it if you tried not to cause another Doomsday."

"You remember what that word means, Violetta?" Wendy called, as they walked out the door.

"It's hard to forget when you keep reminding me!" she shot back.

Two hours later saw the foursome walking in the forest, with pitchforks and nets, and an odd assortment of other potential weapons that Soos had insisted they bring.

"Let's see…" Dipper said. "Well, we could try to find the nest of the Eyeball Bats. Or Largefoot. Or the witch with four arms. Or—"

"Or that!" Mabel said, pointing to a creature about 200 feet away from them.

"Woah!" Wendy said. "What _is_ that?"

Dipper desperately flipped through the Journal. "Uh…uh…"

"If it's not in the book, we get to name it!" Soos said. "I vote Todd."

"I vote Rooster-Fish-Unicorn-Thingamawhat!" Mabel said.

"I vote we catch first and ask questions after," Wendy said. She gave a confrontational yell and ran after it. Soos and Mabel followed suit, and after determining that the thing was not in the Journal, Dipper did the same. The problem with it being a bird, and a horse, and a fish was that it could fly and swim and run. And naturally the monster hunters did their best to do the same.

"Wendy, it's starting to take off again, just jump on it!" Dipper shouted up in a tree.

Wendy pounced, but she fell out of the tree, and the thing flew into the water. "I got it, Dude!" Soos cried, since he hadn't managed to get out of the water yet from the last time he was there. But the thing splashed water in his face and flew up into a different tree.

But finally, after what felt like hours, they managed to corner it and Mabel threw a net over it. "Aww, it's so…" she started.

"Hideous," Dipper said. "It's hideous."

"Yeah," Mabel said. "I was going to try and be positive, but even I know this thing isn't cute."

"Good job, team," Soos said, high-fiving them all.

They dragged it back to the Mystery Shack, with torn clothes and leaves in their hair and smelling of river water. But also laughing, and with a weird freak of nature as a trophy for their troubles.

"Grunkle Stan, look what we found!" Mabel said, proudly showing the thing off.

"Sheesh," he said. "What is it? It looks like my ex-wife's mother."

"It looks like your ex-wife," Ford put in.

"How do you know, you never met her!" Stan said.

"I saw pictures," Ford admitted. "I looked her up online after I came back."

"What is it, Grunkle Ford?" Dipper asked.

"I don't know," he replied, rubbing his chin. "I don't think I've ever seen it before. Of course I have two other Journals which you don't know as well as this one, but I think you can enter this as a first."

Violetta walked in just then, and looked at the monster on the floor. She looked up at Wendy, and then back down at the monster. She slowly nodded. "Just as I suspected."

"What?" Wendy asked.

"It _does_ look like you!" Violetta said triumphantly.

Wendy playfully punched her shoulder. "Shut up, man."

"Seriously though, you guys caught that thing?" Violetta asked. "That's really cool." She smiled at them and walked out again.

"You're not keeping it though, right?" Stan asked. "Please tell me you're not, Soos."

"No," Soos said sadly. "I wouldn't even know what to feed something that's this many different species. Pizza maybe. Everyone likes pizza." He patted the thing on the head. "Goodbye, Todd," he said, and opened the net. As it ran out the front door, Soos shielded his eyes with his hands. "Hey, dudes, I think I see that Pacifica girl coming here. She's not even trying to disguise herself or anything."

"What?" Dipper asked, more quickly than he meant to. "Pacifica's coming?" He pushed past Soos and looked out. No one moved until she walked right up to the front door.

She crossed her arms and looked at them all. "What are you staring at? I've been here before, you all know me. I'm just here to talk to Dipper. So scatter."

They scattered. All except Dipper, who stood rooted in his spot, too afraid to move.

"Hi," he said finally. "What—" he cleared his throat. "What can I do for you, Pacifica?"

"I've got a problem," she said. "And I need your help."


	4. Chapter 4-The Nightmares

Dipper looked at Pacifica in surprise. True, this wasn't the first time she'd swallowed her pride and asked for his help. And true, the events of Weirdmageddon had softened her and made her a friend of sorts. But there were so many more instances of her wanting nothing to do with them that he was still surprised when she acted out of character.

"Okay," he said. "What's up?"

Pacifica took a strand of her hair and began twisting it nervously around her finger. Her hair was still long, and blond, but it looked curlier than it used to. "It's stupid," she said. "But, um, you know that triangle guy we defeated? Bill What's-His-Face?"

"Bill Cipher."

"Yeah, him…so I've sort of been having nightmares about him. And it's not like I'm scared or anything, but it's been happening for weeks now, and they keep waking me up, and not even I can pull off being beautiful if I don't get enough sleep. So I thought maybe you could look in your nerd book or whatever and see if there's a reason for it."

Dipper just looked at her with even more surprise. "You've been…" he said in a voice that was beginning to fail. Then he straightened up and nodded. "Sure, just—just wait right there, Pacifica, and I'll go get the Journal."

He ran up the stairs two at a time—having longer legs made such a feat possible now. He ran to his room and closed the door behind him.  
"Woah, Dipper, I didn't know she scared you so much!" Mabel said, looking up from her phone, where she'd been texting Candy and Grenda.

Dipper turned to her. "Mabel, it's happening to her too. The dreams, the constant Bill Cipher dreams, they're happening to her, too!"

"Seriously?" Mabel asked. "Aw, did she come to you because she was scared?" She gave a tiny mocking smile.

"Mabel, that is so not the point!" Dipper said. "The point is, why is this happening to her, too? Pacifica Northwest, of all people! She's not a Pines. She barely met Bill. She wasn't someone we ever hung out with, and she went through the least amount of trauma in Weirdmageddon!"

Mabel shrugged. "Maybe she's just gun-shy too…after all, we're kinda coming up on the anniversary."

"No, there must be another reason." Other things were slowly becoming apparent to Dipper. Wendy had complained about getting no sleep. Stan looked like a zombie every morning…of course that was pretty normal, but still. "What if we three aren't the only ones? What if it's happening to the rest of them?"

"The rest of who?" Mabel was still only half paying attention, since her texting conversation was moving too fast for her to focus on more than one thing. But suddenly it clicked for her too, and she put her phone down, despite Grenda being about to say what unexpected thing Marius had done on their date. "Like…Wendy and Soos and Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford?"

"And not just them," Dipper said. "McGucket too, and Robbie, and Gideon. Think about it. The only connection Pacifica really has to us is that she's part of that zodiac wheel thing."

Mabel looked skeptical. "That's kind of a big jump," she said. "It might be happening to others besides those ten."

Dipper pointed to her phone. "Ask Candy and Grenda if they've been having these nightmares. They aren't on the wheel."

"That's kind of a weird question to ask…"

"Mabel!"

"All right, all right." Mabel picked up her phone and texted her friends. She only had to wait a second for their replies. "No, and they think I'm weird for asking. Totally called that."

There was a lot Dipper still didn't understand, but he still tingled with excitement that he might be on to something. "We have to talk to the others," he said. "We have to see if I'm right."

"Dipper!" a voice called from downstairs. "You'd better not be ditching me!"

"Oops," Dipper said. He grabbed the Journal. "I forgot I left Pacifica down there."

Dipper would have liked to start his investigation right away, but a surprise group of tourists suddenly came to the Mystery Shack, and since Wendy had gone home to clean herself up after the monster hunt, the twins had to help Violetta out. Dipper got rid of Pacifica with an excuse that he'd have to study the Journal a little longer and ask his uncle Ford for advice. "Okay, but you better not tell him it's about me," Pacifica had said.

"First time you've had to say that, I'm sure," Dipper had replied, but Pacifica offered no comeback other than that she'd be back the following day.

After breakfast the next morning, Dipper convinced Mabel to go with him to see Robbie. They found him at Yumberjacks with Tambry. Mabel poked Dipper excitedly and whispered "They're still together!"

Tambry was on her phone, and Robbie sprinkled some salt on the table and began dragging his finger through it.

Mabel and Dipper began walking over, and Tambry looked up at what Robbie was tracing. "Woah, dude, isn't that that demon triangle guy?" she asked.

Dipper and Mabel glanced at each other, but kept walking.

"Yeah," Robbie said. "I've been having dreams about him lately, so I thought it was my muse or something. I might write a song about how I saved the world from him." He turned and saw the twins. "Oh, great. What do you guys want?"  
"You," Dipper said suddenly. "At the Mystery Shack. This afternoon."

"Why?" Robbie asked, understandably suspicious.

"Because you're not the only one having those dreams," Mabel said, catching on. "So we're trying to prove a theory. Y'know, for science."

Robbie never would have admitted it in a million years, but after Mabel set him up with Tambry, he'd viewed her as a smart girl he valued as a friend, rather than Dipper's annoying sister. If she wanted him to be at the Mystery Shack, there he would be. "Whatever, I guess if I don't have anything better to do."

"Cool," Dipper said. "Sorry Tambry, I know it was rude to invite him and not you, but like Mabel said, this is for science."

"Huh?" Tambry asked, looking up from her phone. "Oh, hi guys. How long have you been here?"

The twins made a brief search for McGucket as well, but with him, he literally could be anywhere, and if no one had seen him, no one could guess what bizarre place he'd choose to haunt next. That was all right. They were bound to see him around sooner or later, and they could talk to him then.

That left Gideon. "Oh, they locked him up," Wendy told them, when they stopped at the Mystery Shack for lunch. "For stealing a car."

"I thought he was going to reform," Mabel said sadly. "I was so happy for him."

"Yeah, he did pretty well for the first few months," Wendy said. "But then he started slipping back into his villainous ways. Didn't dabble in the supernatural anymore though, which I guess he deserves some credit for."

"Why a car though?" Dipper asked. "He's not even tall enough to reach the pedals!"

"Yeah, I'm sure that came up in Juvie," Wendy snickered.

"So you've had the Bill nightmares too?" Mabel asked.

Wendy nodded. "Yeah. I wasn't really concerned though, since I'd always been able to deal with them."

"It's making you lose sleep, isn't it," Dipper said. It wasn't a question.

Wendy looked at him, and smiled. "Always the braniac, aren't you? Yeah, but I'm good, really."

"Well, come into the house this afternoon," Mabel said. "Dipper says we're going to hash all this out."


	5. Chapter 5-Not What She Seems

Chapter 5-Not What She Seems

Mabel stood outside and looked up at the sky. She remembered when it had been a permanent blend of orange and pink, like a sunset. Only it wasn't a sunset. Because the light was coming from a big X torn through the sky, and a floating pyramid hovered underneath it. She'd been afraid she'd never be able to appreciate a sunset again, but happily for her, the next one she saw looked entirely different. But now the sky looked off again. She couldn't quite explain it to herself, especially since it was still definitely blue, but it was sort of an ominous looking blue.  
"Mabel!" Dipper called. "We're ready in here."

Mabel gave the sky one last look before going back inside the Shack. Gathered there were Soos, Robbie, Wendy, her uncles, and Dipper. She took a seat beside her brother.

"Tell me why I'm here again?" Stan asked. "TV isn't gonna watch itself, you know."

"We've called you all here today to investigate a hypothesis," Dipper said, in his most professional tone, the one Mabel called "nerdy" and loved to tease. "There are just some final experiments to conduct, but they're just formalities really, because I'm pretty sure I'm right." He pointed at Soos. "Do you remember what you dreamt last night?"

"Eating pizza muffins with Todd," he said promptly.

Dipper was taken aback for a moment. "Any-anything else?"

"Yeah, I had a dream about Bill," he said. "Again."

Ford started, but didn't say anything.

Dipper tried hiding his smug smile, he really did, but it just felt so amazing to see it all coming together. "Grunkle Stan?" he asked.

"Mutual," he said, and then added quickly, "I mean the Bill one, not—not the other one."

Ford shot him a look, and this time he did speak. "You've been having dreams about Bill?"

"Yeah." Stan shrugged. "So?"

"Stanley, why didn't you tell me?"

"Why should I? We're not kids anymore, Poindexter, and it's just a stupid dream."

"I would argue that it isn't," Dipper said. "Great uncle Ford, have you experienced the same thing?"

"Well yes," Ford said slowly. "But that's nothing new for me. I've always had them, on and off, and I just thought this was one of the 'on' times."

It was all Dipper could do to not jump around excitedly. But before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door. Dipper opened it, and Pacifica stepped inside. She glanced around at everyone, and then gave Dipper a hard sock on the shoulder.

"Ow!" he cried, clapping his hand over the offending spot.

"Oh my gosh, Dipper!" she said. "I can't believe you told them!"

"Relax, I didn't tell them anything," he said, rubbing his shoulder. "Though I think you just did, since everyone here has been having the same dream."

"For weeks," Mabel added. "Ever since we came back." She glanced around the room to see if anybody offered a different story. No one did.

Ford stood up and began pacing. "I don't believe this," he said. "How is it possible for someone who died three years ago to still make our lives a living hell?"

"Woah, I wouldn't call it that, Mr. Pines," Soos said. "It's pretty much just at night. And I had an awesome dream last night in addition!"

Stan snorted. "That's one word for it."

"But why? What does it mean?" Ford asked, though whether he was actually talking to them or to himself was unclear. "Why all of us with the same nightmare?"

"Dipper thinks he's figured that out, too," Mabel said proudly. "He thinks we're connected because of Bill's zodiac wheel."  
Ford looked at Dipper, and a pleased smile began to spread across his face. "You figured that out? Well done, my boy!" Dipper smiled, glowing as he always did from the praise of his hero.

"What, that creepy circle where we all had to hold hands and which we never actually used?" Robbie asked. "Why the heck does that matter anymore?"

"Yeah, if the point of it was to defeat Bill, and he's defeated now," Wendy said.

A doubt, a sudden doubt every one of them had tried for three years to suppress, was now rising up in their minds. But not one of them dared to voice it.

The door leading to the gift shop suddenly opened, and everyone turned to see Violetta come in, holding a box. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean—" she said, and stopped. "Yikes, whose funeral is it?" she asked.

"Not now, Violetta!" Pacifica snapped. "This is something you wouldn't understand."

"Ah." Violetta gave a knowing smile. "It's about Weirdmageddon, isn't it?"

"It's about the Bill nightmares we've been having," Mabel said.  
"Mabel!" Robbie hissed. "She doesn't know who that is!"

Violetta set the box down. "Bill," she said. "Bill Cipher? One-eyed triangle demon with a top hat and bow tie?"

"Y-yeah," Dipper stammered. "How did—?"

"Mabel showed me her scrapbook," Violetta said, and while Dipper was too flustered to reply, she took the box over to Soos. "Sorry to interrupt, but you told me to deliver this into your hands when it came."

Soos' face lit up. "Yes!" he said. "Now I will finally be able to go for days without leaving the couch!"

"I don't even want to guess what that means," Wendy said.

Violetta had reached the door, and put her scarlet-gloved hand on the knob, when there was suddenly a horrific noise, like a scream and a hurricane and the feedback of a microphone amplified by a thousand. Everyone in the house instinctively covered their ears, and Ford stumbled to the door to look out.

"What the…" he said softly, as his nephew joined him. There was lightning in the sky, but the sky was still the same shade of blue that had confused Mabel so. And it was constant flashes, in a different place every second. But the most curious thing was that each time there was a flash, it seemed to rip the universe open, and yet when the flash disappeared, so did the rip. There was no wind, but the trees all around the house began shaking violently. This all couldn't have lasted more than three minutes, but the sound was so painful that it felt more like thirty. When it finally ended, everyone took their hands away from their ears, but waited cautiously to see if there would be more.

"Get away from the door," Violetta said quietly.

Ford and Dipper turned to look at her. "Excuse me?" Ford asked, in a warning tone.

"Mr. Pines, sir," Violetta said. "Get away from the door. You too, Dipper."

"Now listen to me, young lady," Ford said. "Employees here are like family, and I don't deny that you're well on your way to becoming entrenched in the hearts of those present. But you will remember that you still are an employee, and you will not order me around in my own house."

Even Stan was surprised to hear such a speech come out of Ford. He usually was so gentle with everyone around him who wasn't an enemy.

But Violetta hadn't seemed to hear him. She was looking at the trees, almost determinedly. There was a great calm, before suddenly every supernatural being that had been recorded in the Journals, as well or scores of new ones, like as not, bounded or flew out of the forest. They made such a commotion in doing so that it was almost worse than the noise from a few moments ago.

"Get away from the door!" Violetta shouted, and after slamming it shut, Ford finally complied, dragging Dipper with him. But that didn't stop an enormous T-Rex from breaking the door down. It had bloodshot eyes and a snarling mouth, and immediately began looking for a victim.

Violetta whipped a blaster out from her red leather jacket, and used both hands to fire it straight at the dinosaur's head. It collapsed at once, filling the doorway, so no other creature tried to go that way. Everyone watched it fall, and then turned to stare at Violetta, who was giving a hardened look at the creature as the blaster smoked in her hand.


	6. Chapter 6- The Tenth Symbol

Violetta had just shot down a dinosaur. Sweet, mild Violetta, who had no idea how it felt to look out of the window and see bird-eating mailboxes, just happened to have a laser gun on her. Somehow that was even more startling than the noise, the lighting, and the dinosaur.

"Well," Stan said, naturally being the first one to find his voice again. "That came out of nowhere."

He didn't specify which of the oddities he was talking about, but they all knew he meant her.

"Violetta?" Mabel finally asked. "Are-are you okay?" Not really the appropriate question at the time, but Mabel just felt the need to say something to her.

Violetta seemed to snap out of a daze. She looked at the blaster in her hand and put it away as if she was ashamed of it. Then she went to Mabel. "Mabel, I'm sorry I had to kill it," she said softly. "But it was either you or him."

"I know, I know," Mabel said, laying a hand on her arm. "But Violetta…where did that come from?"

"You know where it came from, you've seen them before."  
"Not the dinosaur," Dipper said. "The gun, the sudden taking charge. Who _are_ you, Violetta?"

"She's secretly an Amazon warrior," Wendy grinned. "That explains the motorcycle."

"Actually, that was a gift from an admirer," Violetta said. "I never gave him any hope, but if he's going to take that knowledge and still give me a motorcycle, who am I to refuse it?"

Stan chuckled in spite of himself. "Girl after my own heart."

Violetta shot him a smile, and Mabel suddenly cocked her head. "Hold on. Is that a banjo?"

Since the door was blocked, they forced the window open and saw Old Man McGucket, strumming his banjo and singing a lot of nonsense, while perched on top of a buffalo. He had regained a good portion of sanity, but it seemed to be a guilty pleasure of his to still just do whatever popped into his head.

"Fiddleford!" Ford called to him. "For heaven's sake man, get in here!"

McGucket leaped off the beast and clambered in through the window. "Well howdy!" He said. "Fancy meeting you all here! Ford, I don't mean to alarm you, but there's a dinosaur in your doorway."

"Okay," Robbie said. "I get there's a lot going on right now, but seriously, I want to know why Violetta is suddenly Wonder Woman."

"Me too," Dipper said. "But there's just something I have to know first." He turned to McGucket. "Have you been having any Bill Cipher dreams lately?"

"Maybe!" Fiddleford said cheerfully, before the question actually sunk in and he shuddered. "Yes. Yes I have. Sometimes I still don't know what's real and what ain't but…I could have sworn we defeated him."

Dipper nodded slowly. "That's nearly everyone then."

"Except for Gideon, right?" Soos said. "Do they allow visitors in jail?"

"Ew, I'm not going to be seen in a dirty prison," Pacifica announced.

Dipper bit his lip. "Great uncle Ford, is it possible there was only one way to defeat Bill, and we screwed it up by trying a different way? Should we have just tried the zodiac wheel again?"  
"It wouldn't have worked," Violetta said in a low voice.

Again, everyone in the room turned to face her. "Yeah, it would've," Soos protested. "We all stood in the circle and held hands, and started glowing and junk."

"You weren't even here, how would you even know?" Robbie snapped.

"That was a prophecy from a very long time ago, and I assure you I didn't get it wrong," Ford said.

"It wouldn't have worked because Gideon is not part of that wheel and never was!" Violetta burst out. She sighed and pulled the glove off her left hand. "You all want so badly to know who I am?" She held her hand up so the back was showing. " _I'm_ the star with the eye in the middle. I'm symbol number ten."

They'd all been wondering how many more shocking events they could handle within the span of a few moments, but after this one they knew whatever else she might say couldn't surprise them more. Seared into the back of her left hand was a red outline of the star with the eye in the middle. It looked exactly like the one on top of Gideon's Tent of Telepathy. She let them all gape at it for a minute, wiggling her fingers impatiently, before sliding the glove back on.

"That's not possible," Ford breathed. "That's simply not possible." Violetta just shrugged.

"Then why did we start glowing?" Pacifica asked. "That seemed to indicate it was working."

"Because you had a substitute," Violetta said. "You had someone who was represented by that symbol. Just as anyone wearing the pine tree hat or question mark shirt would have been a substitute for Dipper and Soos. It would have figured it out before actually working. It's a good thing you came up with a back-up plan."

Everyone had so many questions that they couldn't form coherent thoughts, and so just continued staring at her. Violetta shifted uncomfortably. "Okay, this is starting to get weird."

"Oh, starting?" Stan said sarcastically.

"Look," Violetta said. "I get that I'm still just getting to know most of you. I get that you bonded during Weirdmageddon, and I'll never share that bond. I get that you're suspicious of me and that you're slow to trust a new person on the zodiac wheel that makes you special. But come on guys, you know you've all seen things that surprised you at first. Heck, there are things about me _I'm_ still not over. But that's what happens when you live in Gravity Falls. That's what makes this place so amazing. Taking plot twists in stride is in all of your DNA. And if you didn't all get off on it, you wouldn't still be standing here."

After a moment of processing this, Ford slowly nodded. "All right, my dear," he said, in a softer tone than before. "Why don't you explain this plot twist to us, then?"

Violetta sighed, but nodded. "Well, I didn't want to have to until you guys knew me better, but, it looks like we're slamming into emergency mode."  
"Emergency mode?" Wendy asked.

"It's possible I used to work for the Time Paradox Avoidance Enforcement Squadron," Violetta started.

"You're a time traveler too?" Dipper squeaked.

Violetta threw her hands up. "Do you want to hear this or not?"

"Sorry, go on," Dipper said.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm a time traveler. Or, a rogue one anyway, because I got fired for stopping the First World War."

"World War I happened," Mabel pointed out.

"I know, but it used to be a lot worse," Violetta said. "It was always going to happen, just as World War III is always going to happen. I just postponed it until a time when the world could cope with it."

"Woah," Mabel breathed.

"Yeah, well, that's not what the Time Police said," Violetta replied. "I didn't really care that they fired me, because I'd never meant to work for them. I only fell into it because I had an ancestor somewhere who did. When you've got a time traveler in the family, you're never really out of reach. But I kept all my privileges, against the rules, and edited myself out of all their records, so they wouldn't remember to look for me. I stayed in Gravity Falls, because this really is where I'm from, and began exploring the supernatural. I found Journal 2 buried deep in a cave, which was quite exciting. In it was the symbol of the star with the eye in the middle, and it was associated with those who could see further than others, be it emotionally, or physically, or even mentally. I really liked that idea, and so tried to forge a necklace out of the symbol. Gideon stumbled upon me in the woods as I was doing so, and he was a spoiled little kid even then. He demanded both the book and the necklace, and when I denied him he pushed my hand down on the newly forged image, which is why there's a scar there now. For a moment I was off my guard, and he took the book and the image and ran. I never saw them again, but I did see Bill. I'm not…going to go into that now, but let's just say I ended up in a cave centuries ago, with ten images swirling around in my head. I drew them on the cave, not knowing what all of them meant, but knowing exactly what they were for. I knew Weirdmageddon would be coming sooner or later. I even time-jumped around a bit, looking for it, but I'm not supposed to cross my own timeline, so when I couldn't find it I decided to just wait it out. " She looked at Dipper and Mabel. "And then you two just had to come during the summer I was away! I can't teleport, and I knew I wouldn't be able to get in with that bubble surrounding the town, so you can imagine how frustrating _that_ was."

"Yeah, except that we defeated Bill without you, oh Mistress of Time," Stan said.

"Defeating Bill was never my purpose," Violetta said.

"But the locals…" Ford faltered. "They prophesized that cave drawing to mean the key to defeating Bill!"

Violetta smiled. "Let's face it Mr. Pines, this town never contained prophets, however long ago," she said. "I inspired that legend because I knew you'd discover it one day. And I hoped it would bring you all together during Weirdmageddon. Of course I also hoped I would be here when that happened."

"Okay, Wendy said slowly, after a long pause. "Okay, I think I've followed so far. But here's what I don't get. If defeating Bill was never the purpose of the wheel, then what was?"

"Ah," Violetta said. "Now we begin to come up on uncharted territory."


	7. Chapter 7-The Quest Begins

The dead dinosaur continued to lie in the doorway, and the gift shop continued to be left unattended. Outside, an occasional creature would slink back into the woods, but it would be several days before all of them were quite brave enough to return. Inside, nine people were still sitting on couches, and chairs, and the floor, looking at the tenth as she sat on the footrest and told her tale. Never could they have imagined that this insignificant unknown from behind the counter would be so crucial in directing certain paths of their lives. It was hard to listen to, and even harder to believe, but as she had pointed out, it was not the first ridiculous thing they had to accept.

"The wheel," Violetta said slowly, "as far as I can tell, is a message. The symbols obviously stand for the ten people needed, and Bill is there because…because it's his dimension we need to protect the world from."

"His dimension?" Robbie asked. "He's got a dimension now?"

"Of course, he had to come from somewhere," Violetta said. She glanced at Ford. "You've seen it. And so has your friend."

Ford nodded. "But they can't break in," he said. "Bill was the only one clever enough to get into the mindscape and get what he wanted out of that!"

"They couldn't on their own," Violetta said. "But Weirdmageddon weakened the rift between dimensions, and they've been pushing on it ever since. Those cracks in the sky, and the noise, that shows they're succeeding, and are very close now. I give them until the end of summer to break through, but before that there will be more frequent occurrences like the ones today."

"So what do we do?" Wendy asked. "Draw the circle on the ground and hold hands again?"

"No, it'll take more than that this time," Violetta said. "You may not know this, and I really only vaguely do, but apparently the ten people on the circle…they contain great power. I don't know any more than that, but combined we make a force to be reckoned with. So yeah, doing what you did probably would have defeated Bill, if you'd had all the right people. But this time we have to go into the woods, and there's a place…somewhere…that will enable us to combine our power and stop this dimension."

"That all sounds pretty vague," Dipper said skeptically.

"Well, I can't have all the answers," she replied. "No one should have all the answers. But we have enough intelligence and experience in this party to figure it out."

"But you don't even know where in the woods to go!" Mabel said. "Dipper and I have been all over that forest, and believe me, there's nothing special that we haven't uncovered."

"I'm sorry to tell you sweetheart, but there actually is a lot you haven't," Ford said. "Even I haven't covered all of it. But I do know what Violetta's talking about. There's a certain spot that no one goes to. It's usually not a conscious choice, and people can't explain it, but it just seems to scream 'stay away.' "

"So of course you went there," Stan snorted.

"Of course, how could I not? But there actually was very little to tell. It was very silent, and the presence felt evil, but I detected nothing else supernatural about it. So I never went back."

"Aw man, are we going on a quest?" Soos asked excitedly.

"I think we have to," Ford said. "I mean, I'd like to research this a little further, but…"

"You always do," Stan put in.

"But I think we should plan for a week from today," Ford said, ignoring the interruption. He'd had plenty of practice at that. "That sound all right, Violetta?"

She put up her hands defensively. "Hey, I'm just telling you what I know. You're the leader here, sir."

"Quite right," Ford said, but he winked at her. He rose, and the others began to do the same.

"Hey, what about the nightmares?" Pacifica demanded. "That's what I came here to find out about, not to be dragged on some stupid quest."

"The dreamscape always was Bill's turf," Ford said. "I guess it makes sense that he lives on there. But it's just the ten of us, so I'd wager it's a warning that those in his dimension are trying to come back. And it may seem stupid, Pacifica, but you do not want thousands of Bill Cipher's coming here."

Dipper still wasn't convinced. "How can you be sure the tenth symbol is you and not Gideon?" he asked.

"All right, you know what?" Violetta asked, her patience beginning to run out. She grabbed Dipper by the collar and marched him out through the gift shop. She took him into town, and up to the jail. She asked to see Gideon, and then sent Dipper in to see him by himself. "Ask him. I bet you anything he hasn't had a nightmare since the time his perfect hair got caught in a coffee grinder."

Dipper timidly walked up to Gideon's cell. He peered and saw a Gideon that was only slightly thinner and taller than the last time they'd met. He'd lost some of his cuteness, but his hair remained exactly the same.

"Well well," Gideon smirked. "I was wondering when y'all would come visit me. I heard you and Mabel was back in town, though honestly, I'd hoped it'd be her who'd come see me."

Dipper wanted to ask how he'd become like this. Of course Gideon had been a conniving jerk for more days than he'd been a hero, but he seemed so sincere when he was a hero. Dipper guessed old habits die hard. So instead he just asked, "Still dreaming about my sister, are you?"

"Oh, more nights than I can count!" Gideon smiled. "I'll have you know, she's at least receptive of me then."

"Well, good to know you're sleeping easy, at least," Dipper said dryly.

"Just fine, thanks for your concern," Gideon said.

"Please tell me you've dreamt of something other than her recently," Dipper said. Violetta was listening, and she was impressed with how tactfully he was handling this. Gideon would have never given a truthful answer if Dipper had just blurted out the question.

"Well, my hair of course," Gideon said. "Ice cream. The glory days, when I was still a child psychic." He sighed. "The usual. But your sister continues to haunt me…"  
"Right, that's enough of that," Dipper said, turning and walking away. He bumped into Violetta when he was turning the corner. "Well, you were right," he said. "No Bill nightmares. But that still doesn't prove anything, I mean, _you_ haven't been having Bill nightmares."

"Oh yes, I have," she said. "Different ones than the rest of you, seemingly, because, as you all love to remind me, I wasn't there for Weirdmageddon. But still ones that keep me up at night, thank you."

"Oh," Dipper said quietly. As they walked out of the jail, he said "I'm…sorry for doubting you. I've just learned you have to be slow to trust in Gravity Falls, especially when Bill is concerned."  
She nodded. "I don't blame you. And I'm sorry too, for losing patience and practically dragging you out of the Shack. I'm not trying to make excuses or anything, but I think short-tempers are going to be a side effect of the nightmares. Not just for me, for all of us. I think that's why Ford lectured me when I told him to get away from the door. He's always been so polite to me…I think he likes me because I got excited when I saw his Dungeons, Dungeons, and more Dungeons game. I played it with him once."

"Of course he likes you," Dipper said. "We all like you, Violetta, how could we not? That's exactly why it made it harder for us when it turned out you weren't at all the person we thought you were."

She laughed, slung her arm around his shoulder, and gave it a squeeze. "Thanks, Dipper."

"And don't forget the Mable Bars," Mabel said, stuffing her gooey creation into Stan's pack.

"It's a one-day trek, pumpkin," Stan protested. "Do we really need to bring Mabel Bars into this, too?"

"You'll thank me later," she assured him with a smile.

"Right, yeah, well until that happens you'll get to hear me complain about how heavy you made this," he said, shouldering the pack. Then he got serious. "You kids really should have told me you were having nightmares."

"What, you won't tell Grunkle Ford, but we have to tell you?" Dipper smirked, as he walked in. "Anyway, there was nothing you could have done."

"I actually slept better than usual last night," Mabel said brightly.

It was a week later, and Ford had determined that going on this trip would be the right thing to do. He was uncertain of how long it would take, but everyone else seemed to be under the impression that a walk in the woods wouldn't take more than a day, round-trip.

"Got the Journal?" Mabel asked her brother, as Ford came up from the lab.

"Always," Dipper said, patting his jacket. He looked outside. "Looks like everyone's waiting."

"Excellent," Ford said. "We'd better leave at once, before someone changes their mind."

"This better be legit," Stan muttered. "Or else the Shack is closed the whole day for nothing."

The dinosaur had been cleared and the door mended, so they could go outside the front way now. As the four Pines' joined the rest of the group, Dipper turned to Mabel and smiled. "Ready for this?"

She grinned back. "Ready for anything."


	8. Chapter 8- The Clearing and the Statue

Chapter 8- The Clearing and the Statue

The walk was fairly easy, as the junior members of the party had practically grown up traveling those woods, and the Pines' and McGucket had all begun making up for lost time upon arriving in Gravity Falls. But it was still the middle of summer, and it still did get very hot when walking through the patches where the trees provided no shade. Some sparks of conversation were ignited from time to time, but otherwise it was mainly a silent venture. For Mabel's part, she felt she couldn't bear it if they spent the whole day not speaking to each other. As if being with her favorite people in the world wasn't enough, she knew these ten people who were fated to save the world was a very special thing, and she felt each moment of silence was a wasted opportunity at making a memory.

"So," she said, desperate to get something going that would last for more than five minutes. "What kind of power do you think we have, huh? Is it something we'll obtain, like being able to shoot lasers from our eyes, or do you think it's something we just haven't discovered about ourselves yet?"

"Isn't power just another word for talent?" Pacifica asked. "Because I think looking amazing is my superpower. Just as being a glitter queen is yours."

"Aw, do you really think I'm a queen?" Mabel gushed. Sometimes it was hard to tell if Pacifica was truly giving an insult, or if she was simply disguising affection with haughtiness. But Mabel usually liked giving her the benefit of the doubt.

"I hope it's the laser thing," Soos said. "That would be awesome. We could like, get into professional crime fighting and stuff, like superheroes. Then they'd make movies about us, and then we'd be famous!"

Dipper smiled at him affectionately, but shook his head. "Nah, I think it's just the symbols that have the power, and we're merely the vessels to carry out the deed. Whatever that may be."

"Wow, deep," Wendy grinned at him. "That's too bad though, 'cause I think Mabel would have liked making superhero costumes for all of us."

"Don't think she won't anyway," Dipper warned, inciting a laugh from Wendy and a groan from Robbie and Pacifica.

Mabel didn't mind the teasing, because she was pleased that she'd gotten a conversation going. But it fizzled out after that, much to her disappointment. She began thinking of other things to say, but even she fell silent as they neared a clearing she certainly had passed before, but never felt like going through. And of course, that was where Ford turned and started leading them into. No one wanted to go that way; everyone felt that it would be in their best interest to turn and go _anywhere_ else. But no one voiced this concern, because Ford had warned them that they'd feel this way. Still, they dragged their feet as much as they could.

Ford stood between two trees and ushered them in, to where a very large circle of trees surrounded nothing but a large patch of grass…and something else. The company stopped dead in their tracks when they saw it.

It was a statue of Bill Cipher.

He was partly submerged, but it was clearly him. It could have been no one else. That painfully familiar top hat, and single eye, and silly little arm sticking out from his triangle side…

"Ah," Ford said softly. "So this is where it ended up."

"Apparently," Dipper said, as his sister instinctively grabbed his hand.

Stan glanced at Violetta. "This is Bill's physical form, since he couldn't bring it with him when entering my mind…has anyone filled you in on the stuff you weren't here for?"

She bit her lip and nodded. But when Stan made a move to kick the statue, she cried "Don't touch it!" so urgently that he involuntarily stepped back.

"Violetta, Bill can't…can't come _back_ , right?" Mabel finally voiced the question everyone else had been too terrified to ask.  
"NO." Violetta shook her head firmly.

"He seems to think otherwise," Stan muttered.

"What was that?" Violetta asked, more sharply than she meant to.

Stan started, not thinking she'd heard him. "Nothing, I…it's just that when I replay his whole final moments thing in my head I remember him saying a jumble of words."

"And?"

"And I may have borrowed Ford's mind reader thing, recorded it, and played it backwards, like we did with the CD Robbie used to control Wendy, and he was invoking ancient powers to let him return. AXOLOTL, that's what he said."

"You did WHAT?" Ford snapped. "You stole my equipment? And then didn't tell me the results? Stanley you idiot, don't you realize how dangerous that was?"  
"I can handle myself, Sixer," Stan said. "Usually better than you can."

"Shall I remind you of the time I spent 30 years by myself in the _Multiverse_?" Ford cried.

"Yeah yeah, I know, your infamous time dodging from dimension to dimension, cheating death every step of the way," Stan said. "But you're actually the only witness to the dangers in there. When you walked out, you were completely fine. How do we know you weren't just painting yourself as a hero?"

"Guys, come on, you've been friends for three years, just hug it out!" Mabel pleaded.

"Yeah, three years," Stan said, whipping around on her. "And that's all it took for you kids to forget us."

" _What_?" Dipper asked. "Grunkle Stan, do you realize how unfair that is? Don't you know how badly we wanted to see you again?"

Ford snorted. "Real badly. The past two summers you seemed too busy to find time for us."

"They had _lives_ , Mr. Pines," Wendy said. "And so did you, or are you too old to remember that you spent the last three years sailing around the flippin' ocean?"

"Don't you sass me, young lady!" Ford cried. "I don't have the history with you that everyone else does, but I do have the power to fire you in an instant."  
"See if I care!" Wendy shot back. "I'm leaving anyway!"

"We'd have come back if they'd come back," Stan said. "But no, I guess real life was more important."

"Yeah, why didn't you dudes come back?" Soos asked. "I spent the whole year waiting for summer, two years in a row! And you never came."

"Yeah, I was sure you'd be back for Wendy, if nothing else," Robbie said.  
"What?" Dipper asked.

"What?" Pacifica repeated.

"Oh, come on," Robbie said. "Don't try to pretend you don't still draw her in that stupid journal of yours."

"No way, man!" Dipper said. "I got over Wendy forever ago!"

Mabel smirked. "Yeah, it wasn't even a real crush, it was just teenage hormones that he didn't know what to do with."

"Says the girl who had a new love interest every week!" Dipper cried.  
"Hold on," Pacifica said. "Dipper, you liked Wendy? Why did no one tell me this?"  
"Not everything's about you, that's why," Stan scoffed. "Besides, why should we tell you? It was none of your business!"

"These are my friends too, old man!" Pacifica snapped.

"Friends? You wouldn't know a friend if they tattooed the words "Pacifica's friend" in their forehead!"  
"Neither would you!"

"Mr. Pines does too have friends!" Soos cut in. "He's got me, and Old Man McGucket!"

"I have a name, you know!" McGucket said. "Just because I didn't remember it for thirty doesn't mean you get to pretend you don't know it now!"

"Actually, I legitimately don't know what it is," Robbie said.

"Me neither," Wendy said in a bored tone.  
"Am I nothing to any of you?" Fiddleford asked. "What, is the only reason I'm on this journey because I'm part of the zodiac wheel?"  
"Well, yeah," Soos said. "That was kind of the whole point, dude."

"Well, maybe I'll just walk away!" McGucket fumed. "That would show you, wouldn't it? If you were missing a symbol. Then you'll see that I'm just as important as any of you!"

"Of course you're important, Fiddleford," Ford said with a sigh.

McGucket turned to him. "Oh, sure, because I can figure out things you never could, I know why _you_ think I'm useful, Ford."  
"Stop!" moaned Pacifica. "You freaks are giving me a headache!"

"Oh, hold up everyone, Her Majesty has a headache!" Dipper cried. "Bow and compliment her hair, that should appease her!"

"Oh my gosh, Dipper!" Pacifica cried. "You know why I finally agreed to befriend you? Because I finally realized that my parents were jerks, and any company was better than theirs. But now you're acting just like them!"  
"Dipper, you know she's our friend now, stop stereotyping her!" Mabel cried.

"Well, you were stereotyping me with the whole I-can't-love-at-twelve, thing," Dipper said hotly.

"That wasn't a stereotype!" Mabel protested.

"Pretty sad to think I didn't start loving until after that," Dipper mused. "Because that means I didn't love you up til then, either! Have I started loving yet, Mabel, huh? Am I finally old enough to have feelings? Or do I still regard you as coldly and emotionlessly as I do everyone else?"  
"Stop, you know that's not what I meant-" Mabel started.

"You can't judge emotions, Mabel," Ford said sternly. "You have no idea what another person might be feeling, because you're not them!"

Mabel turned on him. "Really," she said. "Are you an expert on emotions now? Because you used to be fun, but lately you've only been hiding behind your newspaper and coffee and research. Dipper asks to drive the car a few months early, and you suddenly become a mother hen? What happened to wanting him as your apprentice, or sending me out to get unicorn hair, or plunging us into a different death-defying adventure every day? And you too, Grunkle Stan, I think you guys are the ones who've forgotten us!"

"Well, _excuse_ me for trying to keep you kids safe, especially since I haven't always succeeded. And Mabel Pines, when have I ever given you reason to think I don't have emotions?" Ford snapped.

"Well, you aren't making an effort to be part of our lives this summer, that's all I'm saying," Mabel replied harshly. "Maybe it would have been better if we'd never come back, and just kept the good memories of that one summer forever."

"You know what?" Wendy asked. "You're probably right. Our nightmares didn't start until you two showed up, and that's practically what's led to this whole chain of events!"

"My dad was never there for me," Soos said. "But I was okay with that, as long as I had a family in you. But you're tearing this family apart, dudes!"

"Sometimes it's not the having, it's the wanting," Pacifica added. "In this case, wanting you guys to come back definitely was better than having it."

"I'm sick and tired of being in this forest!" Robbie moaned. "What the heck is the point anyway, clearly there's nothing here. If I give this hoodie to someone else, will they take over the symbol, too?"

"Hey, no backing out, you spineless teenager!" Stan said. "I swear I'm gonna—" 

"Oh shut up, all of you, just shut up!" Violetta snapped. She had been standing off to the side, rubbing her temples, her back to the company, but now she whipped around. "Can't you see what's going on? This isn't just nightmare side effects anymore, this is getting out of hand. I get that this place is reeking of evil and there's a statue that's putting us on edge, but you've got to keep it together!"  
"I will if they will," Fiddleford huffed.

"Stan, I don't know why Bill said what he did, but it probably has something to do with our mission now," Violetta said. "But I promise that he can't come back."

"Wait, the statue's influencing us? Is that what you just said?" Wendy asked.

"Not one word uttered just now was truly intended," Violetta informed them all with a frown. "I don't know what to do about that, except to tell you to fight it."

"How are we supposed to do that in a place that feels like death?" Robbie asked sarcastically. "And not the cool kind of death either, the nightmarish kind." He put his hand on the statue and accidentally pushed too hard on it.

"Don't touch it!" Violetta and Ford shrieked, while about half the group dove forward to prevent him.

But it was too late. The statue sunk in the ground a couple of inches, and settled into place with a click. The ground rumbled as the company cried out in terror and scrambled to get away. But all they succeeded in doing was falling through the four separate enormous cracks that opened beneath them. Their shouts of protest and fear could be heard long after they fell, but the cracks put themselves back together and the earth stopped shaking. All fell quiet in the clearing, as if nothing had happened.


	9. Chapter 9-The Apprentice

" _Violetta Echo, let the record show that your position with the Time Paradox Avoidance Enforcement Squadron is hereby terminated."_

 _Violetta shrugged with an apathy that the Time Police weren't used to seeing when firing people. "Yeah," she said. "Well that's to be expected." She turned and started walking away._

" _Just a minute!" Agent Dundgren called. "You're going to have to turn in your time machine."_

 _Violetta slowly turned back around, and an even slower grin appeared on her lips. "Really? Well here's a little piece of advice for you. Next time you fire a time traveler, take her equipment first, losers!" She pulled back the tape measure and disappeared from right under the agents' noses. She only jumped forward ten minutes though, because she knew as long as she was still on their property, they could detect where she went. As she suspected, however, they'd cleared the room by that point, and she could run away. She was able to dodge them pretty well, even though the downside of giving them a ten-minute headstart was that they'd alerted everyone by then, but then she rounded a corner and bumped into a girl wearing a short yellow skirt, with a black shrug and flats._ _  
_ _"Okay, I've got to be stealthier than that," Violetta said._

 _The girl had looked at her with wide, fearful eyes, but then she straightened up. "Hey, you're the one they're hunting, aren't you?"_

" _Yeah…" Violetta said slowly. "Who are you though? You don't work here!"_

" _Um…" the girl said uncomfortably, but then Violetta peered at her._

" _Wait, didn't they arrest you last week? Something about stealing an agent's time machine?"_

" _I was framed!" The girl protested, but then she hung her head. "No, who am I kidding, time travelers can always go back and watch the crime being performed. But come on, it was one measly tape measure, and they confiscated it as soon as they caught me!"_

" _Okay, I really don't have time for this, so why don't you just run," Violetta said, shoving the girl in front of her. "Neither one of us has to worry about the other turning them in, fortunately."_

 _They started running down the corridor, and the girl turned to look back at her. "I'm Wilma," she said._

" _Violetta."_

" _Once we get out of here, we should go back and delete our records," Wilma panted._

" _Delete our records?" Violetta repeated._

" _Yeah, so they'll stop looking for us. You can go back to the night before you were fired. I'll tell you how to do it."_ _  
_ _"Sheesh, you're a full-on criminal, aren't you?" Violetta asked. "A thief, a jail-breaker, and now you know how to erase your file? Anything else I should know about you?"_

 _Wilma giggled as they sailed through the exit. "I'm immortal?"_

 _Violetta almost tripped, but saved herself._ _  
_ _"That's probably enough to go on for now," Wilma said. "I did just meet you, after all!"_

 _Two years later, Wilma and Violetta continued to be time travelers, saving the world. They were just careful not to change time so much that it would attract the attention of the Time Agents. And they were careful to keep out of any press._

" _I still have mixed feelings about time traveling," Violetta said one day after they'd warned a young couple in Gravity Falls that their picnic spot happened to also be a picnic spot for the Gremloblin. "But I have to admit I feel sorry for everyone who doesn't have the opportunity to do it."_

" _Mm-hmm," Wilma said distractedly. "Violetta, remember how you asked me if there was anything else you should know about me?"_

" _Uh oh," Violetta said. "Nothing good ever comes after that kind of sentence."_

" _Then this is your lucky day," Wilma said. "Because there's someone I want you to meet."_ _  
_ _"Really," Violetta asked. "I met you as you were staging a jailbreak, and for the two years after that I've met everyone you have. How could you possibly have someone for me to meet?"_ _  
_ _"Because you don't see what goes on in my head," Wilma said._

 _Violetta opened her mouth to ask what that was supposed to mean, but Wilma grabbed the tape measure and pulled the tape out. Violetta wasn't sure how many centuries they went back, but it was definitely centuries, plural. Wilma knelt down in the middle of the forest and began chanting something that sounded so evil and demonic that Violetta instantly covered her ears. "Woah, Wilma, what the heck are you doing?"_ _  
_ _Wilma didn't stop chanting though, not until a wave of grey washed over everything, and Violetta suddenly had the distinct feeling she'd been knocked out. She stared at a small, one-eyed triangle who had come with the grey. Only he wasn't grey. He was very yellow—he almost looked like a nacho. He looked at Violetta in surprise. "Well hello, Starry Eye," he said. "Good to finally meet you, though you won't be born yet for another—oh, wait, you're the time traveler, aren't you?"_

" _We're from the future, Bill," Wilma said proudly. "You told me to bring her back here so she could meet you."_

" _Well, if I did, I did," Bill said. "Probably because I remembered this conversation. Time traveling's confusing, huh? Anyways, glad to see you're still my apprentice then, toots." He stuck out his hand to Violetta. "Name's Bill Cipher. Guessing you've got questions?"_

" _Where am I?" Violetta immediately demanded._

" _The mindscape, of course. I'm sorry we couldn't meet in a more civilized fashion, but clearly Weirmageddon hasn't happened yet and I haven't taken a physical form."_

" _Weirdmageddon?" Violetta repeated crisply._

" _I should have possessed somebody, why didn't I possess somebody?" he asked, turning to face Wilma. "Never mind—I didn't, so we should cut right to the chase. I know who you are, Violetta, and you're strong and smart. I want you to join me."_

" _Why?" Violetta asked, continuing to shoot death glares at both him and Wilma. "I don't know you."_

" _Because Weirdmageddon is going to change the world as we know it," Wilma said. "And it will happen, it is foretold, it must happen. Bill is going to make the world a much more interesting place to live than it is right now. And he wants you and me to help him achieve that! So what do you say?"_

 _Violetta looked at Bill. "You're right, you don't know me," he said. "But you do know my apprentice here, and she knows me. I am a god, Starry Eye, and once I take physical form there is nothing I won't be able to do. No pressure or anything, but it would be kinda insane to refuse me."_

 _Violetta stared at him for a moment before firmly shaking her head. "That's a risk I'll have to take."_

 _She was startled to see him grow ten times larger, and his great eye turning a horrible red. "YOU FOOL!" he cried in a voice several octaves deeper. "DO YOU REALIZE WHO—" Then he stopped and went back to normal. "Come with me," he said, snapping his fingers so that they were on the cliff that overlooked where the UFO had crashed into Gravity Falls. But the UFO shape wasn't there. "Do you see those mountains?" Bill asked. "We are in a perfectly normal town, in a perfectly normal country, in a perfectly normal dimension. But in about one hour and sixteen minutes, a spaceship will crash through those mountains and nothing will ever be the same for this town. If there are any freakish beings in this sickeningly normal dimension, they'll gravitate here, no pun intended. If there are any misfits who are so misfitting that they don't even fit with the misfits, they'll end up here. If anyone ever has a physically impossible birth defect, or a family ghost, or a cheerful outlook on death, or a tape measure time machine, they'll end up here. You following me so far?"_ _  
_ _"I'm waiting for the point," Violetta said._

" _Point being," Bill said. "That's how life is supposed to be led. With all that weird unpredictability. I intend to make that wonderful weirdness a lifestyle, and this dimension is the perfect blank slate. Trust me when I say it will be better for you in the long run if you join me now."_

 _But Violetta shook her head. "Weirdness is, by definition, abnormal," she said. "It's not supposed to be a lifestyle. And don't think I don't know a demon when I see one, demon! They sugarcoat everything that is intended to be truly horrific." She grabbed Wilma's arm. "We're leaving."_ _  
_ _"Violetta, wait!" Wilma cried._

" _You think you've seen the last of me, Starry Eye?" Bill asked. "Just think, I've now got centuries before your birth to plan what I'm going to do to you when you come into existence!"_

 _Violetta snapped the tape measure back, and when she'd landed back in her time she threw Wilma to the ground. "How could you?" She demanded. "You were supposed to be a friend, but you sold me out to that monster?"_ _  
_ _"He's NOT a monster!" Wilma whimpered. "He's so wise and clever, Violetta, you have no idea! And I've known him longer than you, so maybe you're the monster, V!"_

 _Violetta shook her head disappointedly. Then she gripped Wilma's arm again. Wilma squirmed, but couldn't break free. "Wait wait wait, what are you doing?" she asked._

" _Taking you back."_ _  
_ _Violetta didn't even have to say where before Wilma began kicking and screaming. It hurt Violetta to do, but she set her teeth and marched Wilma back to the Time Police the day after she'd broken free, so that even though her file was gone they all still were hunting her. Violetta was careful not to let herself be seen, and she slipped away. She jumped forward a couple of years to see what became of her friend, but learned that Wilma had somehow bypassed her immortality and killed herself._

 _And that's when the Bill dreams began occurring. He would appear in her mind while she was asleep and just talk. It was torturous, as he knew it would be. Sometimes it was just stories about who he'd killed that day, but other times he would show her people she'd met in the past going through horrors unimaginable. He let names fall sometimes. Stanford Pines. Wendy Corduroy. Fiddleford McGucket. And she met or already knew such names as Soos Ramirez and Robbie Valentino. Every time Violetta heard one of those names, she had a horrible flash of a symbol. Sometimes she could tell what it was on the first sighting, and other times it took several flashes for her to see the symbol. She didn't know why she was seeing them, and it was beginning to scare her, especially since each flash was blindingly painful. She never asked why Bill called her "Starry Eye," but whenever he did it was another flash._

 _After one particular nightmare, Violetta woke up in so much pain that tears involuntarily formed in her eyes. She found that she'd somehow picked up her time machine and taken herself back ten years. She peeked out at the sky that was about to see a sunrise, and went out for a walk. She paid absolutely no attention to where she was wandering, but eventually dropped to her knees on what appeared to be a giant lawn, and covered her eyes._ _  
_ _Suddenly she heard the sound of sobbing. She lifted her head and listened, her vision suddenly clearing. When the sobbing continued, she stood up and went to investigate. She found a little blond girl huddled under a tree, crying into her knees. She couldn't have been more than four years old._

" _Hey," Violetta said softly._

 _The girl's head snapped up, and she stared belligerently at Violetta. "This is my lawn."_

" _I know," Violetta said. "I'm sorry. I was just…walking, and I guess I got lost. And then I heard you crying, and well, it must be a night for feeling bad all round," she said with a sad smile._

 _The girl stared at her. "You don't look like a peasant."_

" _Thank you," Violetta said solemnly. "You don't, either. Why were you crying?"_

" _No reason," the girl said quickly._

 _Violetta sat down next to her. "I was crying a minute ago, too, you know. I had a dream about a demon triangle."_

 _The girl looked at her curiously. Then she said, "I'd rather have had that. They just sent my dog away because he got mud on my mother's best gown. And they say I can't have a new one, not that I'd want one."_

" _I'm sorry," Violetta said, hoping her heart would stay in one piece. "You're right, you win."_

" _I was crying last night," the girl said. "And then Daddy rang the bell, so I had to stop. But then I woke up just now and thought of it again, so I came out here where he won't find me."_

 _Violetta smiled at her. "Brave little soldier, aren't you?"_

" _You've got the same colored eyes as Violetta," the girl said suddenly._

" _Violetta Echo?"_

 _The girl nodded. "I never met her, but I saw her on TV when her parents died."_

 _Violetta looked keenly at her, wondering if she knew who this girl was. And whether she could be trusted. But Violetta wanted to say something to keep this distraction going. The girl had talked about her dog matter-of-factly, but she'd looked more crushed than a four-year-old ought to look. "I'm going to tell you a secret," Violetta said. "And the only person you can ever discuss it with is me."_

 _The girl nodded solemnly._

" _I'm Violetta from the future," Violetta whispered. "If you ever need a friend, you can just go up to me and tell her my future self came to see you when you were sad."_

 _The girl looked at her with wide eyes. If she were any older she might have thought Violetta was messing with her, but this girl believed every word._

" _My name's Pacifica," she said, when she got her voice back._

 _A blinding flash, but Violetta couldn't tell what it was, so she kept it together. "I'm sorry?"_

" _Pacifica," the girl said. "Pacifica Northwest."_

 _Two more flashes, and it looked like, a llama? Really?_

 _Pacifica seemed to be hesitant about something, and then she flung her arms around Violetta. "I never had a friend," she said. "Don't let my Daddy see you."_

 _Violetta pressed the little girl to her while swallowing a sob. The vulnerable sides of spoiled brats are almost never seen, and that's a darn shame, because they explain so much._

" _I'd better go," she finally said. "But I mean it, Pacifica. I'll always be looking out for you."_

 _Pacifica nodded and smiled. When Violetta had walked out of sight, the symbols were burning her brain so much that she felt she needed to do something about it. She jumped back in time to watch the UFO crash into the mountain. She went down near it, but didn't have to courage to go up to it. She watched the smoke from it rise up as she scooted round it into a cave. Almost on sudden impulse, she painted the zodiac wheel on the wall, with Bill in the middle._

 _There was so much more she needed to think about; so much she still didn't understand. But for now, all she could do was stumble back to her time, and into bed, where she lay unmoving for several days._

 _And Bill never entered a dream of hers again after that day._


	10. Chapter 10-The Caves

"Dipper."

Dipper felt someone shake him, and he blinked his eyes open. He could barely see a face illuminated by the tiny flame of a match. "Grunkle Stan?" he asked.

"Yep." The match went out, and they were engulfed in darkness. "How you feelin'?"

Dipper sat up, and slowly he began to make out figures in the darkness. "Fine, I think. What happened?"

"We fell," Stan said simply. "Through a crack in the ground."

"Right, okay, but how far down? Where are we now? And are the others…" he stopped when he suddenly recognized one of the figures. "Oh my gosh, Pacifica!" He rushed to her side.

"Relax, kid, she's fine," Stan said. "I just didn't feel like being the one to wake her up."

"Do you have another match?" Dipper asked urgently.

Stan handed one to him. "But not too many more," he said.

"This is bad," Dipper said. "Like, _really_ bad."

"Ya think?" Stan asked.

Dipper leaned over Pacifica and gently touched her face. "Hey," he said. "Pacifica, wake up." He could still remember a time where he would have enjoyed being the one to knock her out, but he hadn't felt that way towards her in a long while. "Pacifica," he said. "McGucket got into your makeup bag." He couldn't tell if that's actually what made her open her eyes and sit up just then, but he made a mental note to tease her about it later.

Pacifica stared at him for a moment, and then said "Is this blood in my hair? Because I really don't look good in blood."

Dipper wanted to be annoyed that that was her primary concern, but he couldn't help smiling instead. "Nah, just mud," he said, as the match went out.

"Well, at least now no one can see it," she said.

"Yeah, we also can't see _anything_ else, milady," Stan snorted.

"Oh, great, what'd you bring him for, Dipper?" Pacifica asked.

"Wow," Dipper said. "We're stuck who knows where for who knows how long, and you two still only speak fluent bully?"

"Well, it's not like this is the worst situation I've been in," Stan said. "Though it probably does come into the top ten. But I mean, we're breathing right? So there's oxygen. And that means a way out."

"Yeah, but what if we never find it?" Dipper asked anxiously.

"We'll just keep looking until we do," Stan said. "Unless you've got better things to do."

That quieted Dipper for a while. Stan groped around in the darkness until he found a stick from the debris that had fallen with them. He took Pacifica's jacket, despite her protests, and wrapped it around the stick, before lighting it with one of his remaining matches. Dipper was greatly reassured to be able to see their faces for longer than a couple of seconds. But something else quickly rose in his mind to dash that comfort. "Where's everyone else?" he asked.

"We fell through a crack in the ground, right?" Pacifica asked. "But there was more than one crack, so we were probably all split up."

"And if we survived, they probably did, too," Stan said, resting a hand on Dipper's shoulder. "Don't worry, squirt, I'm sure Mabel's fine."

But the mention of Mabel's name just made Dipper more upset. "Oh my gosh, Mabel!" he moaned. "I fought with her, I…if those were the last words she ever hears from me I'll never forgive myself."

"Hey, Dipper, listen to me." Stan spun Dipper around so that they were facing each other. "We all said things up there we regret, okay? Violetta was right; that place was having an evil influence on us."

"That's no excuse to say I didn't love her!" Dipper cried.

"Not saying it is. Though you said nothing of the kind. I'm just saying she'll know you didn't mean it. But it doesn't matter anyway, 'cause we're gettin' out of here, and you can give her all the apologies you can think of." He paused for a moment, then added "speaking of which, I'm… sorry for what I said to _you_. I know you two didn't forget us…you called us at least once a week, and sometimes more often than that. And I don't really begrudge you at all for going out and living the lives you led when you were here last time. That is why you came, after all."

Dipper shrugged. "Well, you were right, we haven't been there for you as much as last time. I guess we thought you didn't need us, since you have a twin of your own now."

"Heck, Dipper, you know _that'll_ never be the case," Stan grinned, shoving him playfully. "His ugly mug is pretty much the only one I've seen for three years! I've missed you two somethin' fierce, and Ford has, too. We'll both always need you." Dipper smiled, and Stan held out his hand to him. "Now come on. We'd better stick together, because I ain't coming back for either of you."

Dipper took his hand, and held out his own to Pacifica. She looked at in hesitation, and Dipper felt a slight annoyance begin to rise up in him. "What, is my hand too commonplace for you?" he asked, and the annoyance instantly vanished as he realized that wasn't it.

"Of course not," she said quietly, and took his hand.

The light from Stan's makeshift torch showed that what they'd fallen into wasn't just a freak pit, but great caves that had been intentionally carved out. There were occasional drawings on the walls, with cryptograms Dipper would have loved to try and interpret, but not right now. It was rather comforting to see that people had been there before, though, since they would have needed an escape route as well. But the three had no idea how far down they were, since looking up only showed a vast darkness, with no ceiling or daylight to cut it off. They didn't say anything, but all were fervently hoping they'd bump into some more of their party, even though the path wasn't straightforward, but had many turns and forks, and they could only pick one and hope it would lead somewhere productive. But they didn't meet anyone or anything, and they mostly were so focused on finding the exit that they forgot to speak.

"How long have we been walking?" Pacifica finally asked at one point. "Feels like hours."

"Honestly, do you even try to keep the whininess out of your voice?" Stan asked, but then added less sharply, "Hours is probably an accurate guess. We should probably decide whether to camp out here or keep walking through the night."

"How can you tell when it's night?" Dipper asked.

"When your body lets you know, I suppose," Stan said.

"I can't even imagine sleeping on the floor," Pacifica sighed. "But my feet are killing me, and I'll probably die from hunger pretty soon anyway."

Dipper hesitated. Part of him didn't want to stop walking until he'd found the others, but he also knew that they'd already had a day of walking before being swallowed by the earth, and that Stan often didn't let his age control him and Pacifica was probably greatly lacking in stamina. "Yeah," he said slowly. "I think we should stop. For now, anyway. Until it feels like it might be morning."

"Awesome," Pacifica said. She let out a sigh and fell where she stood. "Here's good."

There were some rocks lying around, and a whole lot of dirt, but no wood, so they couldn't make a real fire, much to their disappointment. The jacket had burnt up some time ago, and Stan had resorted to his dress shirt, but now that was close to burning out as well. Stan stuck the torch in the ground anyway. Then he reached into his pack and pulled out…the Mabel bars.

Dipper managed a laugh. "Classic Mabel foresight."

"Yeah," Stan said wistfully as he passed them out. "I only wish she was here to say 'I told you so.' "


	11. Chapter 11- Icy Star

Ford opened his eyes, but there was virtually no difference in what he could see. He closed his eyes and opened them again, just to make sure, but no, blackness was still all that was out there. He sat up, absently rubbing the bump on his head. He waited for his eyes to adjust, and then suddenly remembered his flashlight. Ha! And Dipper had laughed when Ford slipped it in his pocket! Ford hadn't meant for him to see it, but he thought Dipper of all people would appreciate a little paranoia and over preparedness.

Dipper. Ford suddenly had sobering thoughts of the arguments that had gone on up above. Ugh, how could he have been so thoughtless in what he said to his great-nephew? And to Mabel, too. The novelty of him being the author might have worn off, but their love for him hadn't. What had he been thinking?

He clicked his flashlight on and shone it about the cave, for a cave it seemed to be. The first thing he saw was Mabel, lying on the ground. He hurried over to her and rolled her on to her back. "Mabel," he murmured. "Mabel?" He checked her over for injuries, and winced when he found an extensive gash in her right arm. But other than that she seemed to be fine. He gently lifted her arm, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Dipper," she gasped.

"No, dear," he said, a wave of relief rushing over him. "It's me."

She looked at him with something that he might have called contempt if he didn't know better. "Well, where's Dipper?"

"I—," Ford looked around, as it sunk in for the first time that they were the only two there. "I don't know…we were split up from everyone else, I guess."

Mabel sat up hurriedly, and whimpered as she touched her aching head. "Ow."

"Just stay still a moment," Ford whispered. He put the end of the flashlight in his mouth as he held her arm in one hand and reached into the pocket of his trench coat with the other. He kept shooting glances at her face, but she wasn't looking at him. Or at her arm. She was looking off into the distance, as if pretending he wasn't there. Was something bothering her? Ford pulled a salve out of his pocket and rubbed it over her arm. She inhaled sharply through her nose, but didn't say anything. "Sorry," Ford said. "The pain will stop in a minute." He wrapped a strip of cloth tightly around her arm. "I don't have any disinfectant," he said apologetically, and then added with a wry smile, "I know you kids joke about my bottomless pockets, but even I don't always carry everything with me. But the salve should take care of that, at least until we get back home."

"Are we going to get home?" Mabel asked.

"Well, of course we are!" Ford said. "Look around you, there are paintings on the walls. Someone clearly has been here before us. All we have to do is find the path they've undoubtedly left." He stood up, then held out his hand to help her. She took it, but still avoided his gaze.

"Hey," he said, turning her to face him. "Look at me. We're going to be fine. All right? And I'm sure the others will be too."

"Yeah," she said, and then started walking.

His surprised gaze followed her, and then he ran to catch up. "Mabel, is something wrong?"

"No," she said sharply. "Why should anything be wrong? You said we'll get out of these caves, and I believe you."

"But you're supposed to be the reassuring one," Ford protested. "Giving hope, the way you always do. Where's the cheerful and positive niece I remember?"

She shot him a look. "I don't know," she said icily. "I guess _I_ don'trememberher. It has been three years, after all." She continued walking, and Ford was noticing for the first time that he was struggling to keep up with her long strides.

"Oh, sweetheart, is that was this is about?" he asked. "I'm so, so sorry, Mabel. I didn't mean a word of it…you heard Violetta, we were being influenced."

"I know," Mabel said, the ice in her voice still thickly laid on.

"It's no excuse for saying what I did," Ford said. "I know that, of course. But she was right. That place was evil, and devoid of anything wholesome or living, and the lack of sleep caused by nightmares wasn't helping. And then there was the Bill statue, and well, bickering was inevitable. But we apologize and forgive each other Mabel…that's what this family does. It may take some of us longer to do than others, but not you! Do you know how jealous I am of how easily you can forgive and forget? It makes your life so much richer and more meaningful, and I wish I could have learned that lesson long ago. Even now Stanley and I will still hold grudges longer than we should, but gone are the days where they would tear us apart, and that's thanks to you and your brother!"

He had a lot more he wanted to say, but his stubbornness was beginning to rise up in him, and he couldn't swallow his pride enough to let any more sentiments fall on unreceiving ears. That her forgiveness meant more to him than anything, that if he didn't have her friendship now there was almost no point in going on. He'd forgotten how easily she could stir up emotions in him.

She just looked at him. "I'm a teenager now, Great uncle Ford," she said. "Maybe I just changed."

"No," he said. "No. Three years couldn't do this to you, whatever stage of life you're in."

"How long do you think it's been since someone was down here?" she asked suddenly.

"Don't change the subject!"

"If we live through this, I'll have a whole summer to remind you of the things that happen during teen years. But for now, I'm serious, how long do you think it's been? Because there might be a path now, but I keep waiting for the cave to have fallen in somewhere, and we'll be stuck."

Ford trained his flashlight on the walls. He wondered if Dipper was seeing the same type of thing, and if the desire to study them better was as strong in him. "Years," he said slowly, reluctant at letting their previous issue go so easily. "Centuries, maybe."

"What if the oxygen goes out?" Mabel asked pointedly.

"I don't think it will," he said. "I mean, we've come this far."

"We've only been walking for a couple of minutes," Mabel said. "And how do you know this is the exit route, and not the way that leads deeper in?"

Ford hadn't considered that. This just seemed like the right way, like he was being pulled in that direction. Mabel had started going that way on her own, as well.

"Well, if it feels like we're going down, we'll know to turn around," he said. "It's not as if we have too many alternatives."

"What, trial and error, _that's_ your great escape plan?" Mabel asked. "Haven't you ever been stuck in a cave before?"

"I've been stuck in a lot of places," he replied. "Caves included. But it's not just trial and error, and it's not just dumb luck, it's also gut instinct. A very powerful thing in our family. Saved all of our lives more times than we probably give it credit for."

"Whatever," Mabel said, as if she was a teenager or something. She was silent after that, and Ford didn't have the heart to try to get her to speak again. He'd hurt her deeply. He didn't expect that he'd hurt her _that_ deeply. He'd felt terrible, of course, and couldn't apologize soon enough, but he'd never known her to hold a grudge.

He wondered if Dipper, wherever he was, was feeling the same way about him. He supposed he should feel lucky that both of them weren't there to shoot daggers with their unforgiving glances.

And what about Stan, was Mabel mad at Stan, too? Ford liked to think that neither Dipper nor Mabel felt any longer as if either uncle loved one more than the other, but Stan still seemed to read Mabel better than Ford. Maybe he could talk some sense into her.

Ford could get lost in thought pretty easily, so he sort of lost count of how many hours he'd been walking with these thoughts, but he did get pulled out of his reverie in a hurry when Mabel stopped and looked at the large pile of dust and dirt that was blocking their path.

"Well look at that," she said bitterly. "I never thought it would feel so bad to be so right."


	12. Chapter 12- Employees Unite

Chapter 12- Employees Unite

When Wendy opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was a soft blue glow. She pushed herself up and glanced at a blue ball, hovering in the air. She stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out what it was, before the rest of her woke up and she was aware of Soos lying unconscious a little ways off, and Violetta looking at the walls and gently running her hand over them.

Violetta looked over at her. "Hey."

"Hi," Wendy replied.

"How are you?" Violetta asked.

Wendy shrugged. "A little banged up, but otherwise fine. You?"

Violetta nodded. "The same," she said.

"Yeah, except for your leg," Wendy said, just noticing the blood-stained bandage wrapped around Violetta's left shin.

She looked down and gave an almost sheepish smile. "Oh this? 'Tis but a flesh wound. I think Soos'll be fine too…he looks worse for wear because we got a generous amount of dirt dumped on us, but he's pretty much got a built-in pillow there to protect his bones."

"Wow, we were crazy lucky," Wendy mused.

"Yeah." Violetta didn't try to disguise the relief in her voice.

Wendy looked around. "Are we the only three here?"

"Mm." Violetta nodded. "We got split up. Four different cracks in the ground, four different groups. I wish I could have some idea of who ended up with who, but I didn't even see who _I_ fell with until I woke up."

"What the heck is that?" Wendy pointed up at the blue ball that was emitting the light.

Violetta grinned. "I have no idea. I stole it from the Time Police the day I was fired. It lights up when you toss it in the air, and it follows the person who tossed it so they don't have to hold it, which is nice. But otherwise I just have to hope it doesn't emit radiation or open portals or anything, too."

"Wicked." Wendy reached up and poked it. It moved ever so slightly under her touch, and felt slipperier than she'd have guessed. "My mom used to have something like this. Of course it wasn't a sci-fi toy for time travelers, but it was this blue disco ball that someone gave her as a wedding present. She really got a kick out of it, and a lot of my memories with her include shining flashlights on it and watching it spin."

Violetta looked sideways at her. Wendy had talked about her mother in a seemingly calm fashion, but it was the first Violetta had ever heard of Mrs. Corduroy. "What happened to her?" she asked quietly.

Wendy touched the globe again and watched it quiver before answering. "Car accident. It wasn't her fault—the other guy ran a red light. She didn't stand a chance; she was dead before anyone got to her."

Violetta hesitated for a moment before gently pressing, "Who-hit her?"

"Some tourist," Wendy answered, and when she saw the relief on Violetta's face she continued "I know, I'm super glad it wasn't anyone in town, because I would never have been able to face them again."

"How old were you?"

"I was nine," Wendy replied. "Yeah, I took it hard. I cried a lot, even though my dad forbade me from doing it because he said it was setting a bad example for my brothers. He said we needed to be strong, but I could tell he was taking it hard, too. I took to going to the roof of the Mystery Shack whenever I especially missed her, and one day Stan found me. But he didn't kick me off like I expected him too. He was really sympathetic, and said I could hang out there as long as I didn't scare off the customers. Of course there weren't many customers even back then. Now that I know about his brother I guess he was relating to me losing someone I loved, so when I was, what, 12, I guess? He hired me. I'd stopped feeling so upset about my mom by that time. I was a terrible employee, I mean, you've seen me, but he never fired me, or even seriously threatened to. That's why I could never bear to quit, either, even though the pay was terrible. I'm gonna seriously miss that old dump when I go to college."

Violetta stood very still, feeling honored that Wendy was sharing this much information with her, and fearing that if she even breathed Wendy would put her cool façade on again.

But Wendy had finished, and now she was looking anxiously at Soos. "He's been out for a while…do you think I should wake him up?"

"Sure," Violetta said. "I guess we should probably start figuring out our next move, anyway."

"Oh, right, we're buried deep beneath the surface," Wendy smirked. "I almost forgot."

Violetta giggled. "Yeah, I can see how you could mistake this for the outside world." She giggled again and went back to looking at the walls. So many symbols; some she recognized, but not enough to be able to read what was written. Too bad.

Wendy went over and poked her friend. "Hey, Soos," she said. "Soos!"

Soos groaned. "Five more minutes," he mumbled, and Wendy grinned.

"Dude, you have to wake up, man," she said. "Check this place out!"

Soos sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Woah!" he said. "What is this place? And what is that mystical blue orb?"

"It's our light," Wendy said. "And we fell into a crack in the ground, remember? We're in a sort of cave now…Violetta's here too, but that's it."

Soos' memory suddenly kicked in, and his face took on a grim look. "It is a dark day for the Ramirezes," he said solemnly.

"What?" Violetta asked.

"I lost my temper," Soos said. "I didn't know what that felt like until today. I said some things I am not proud of, and I apologize."

"Dude, it's okay, Violetta's right, Bill's still affecting us," Wendy said. "We all said stuff we're not proud of."

"Violetta didn't," Soos pointed out.

Violetta looked at him awkwardly. "I'm the outsider Soos; you all lashed out at the people closest to you."

There was silence for a minute, and then Soos adjusted his cap determinedly. "Well, never fear, I am gonna get you dudes out of here." He immediately went to one of the walls and began digging. "If it takes me a thousand years, I _will_ dig us out," he said.

"Soos, that's really sweet, and may come in handy at some point," Violetta said. "But there's actually a path right here."

Soos stopped digging. "Oh," he said. "Well, I'll find the way out then." He began charging down the path, and Violetta and Wendy ran after him so the blue light would follow.


	13. Chapter 13-An Unlikely Duo

Robbie felt something poke his chin. But his head hurt too much for him to want to open his eyes, so he just stayed as he was. He felt another poke, but continued to ignore it. After the third poke, however, he abruptly sat up and took a swing at the figure stooping over him. "Knock it off!"

"Well, that's a relief!" McGucket said. "I thought you'd gone and given up the ghost on me!"

"You thought I'd wha…" Robbie shook his head. "Never mind, I don't care."

He stood up and brushed himself off. Then he looked around at the caves he was in and slowly began to piece together his memory. The statue, the Bill Cipher statue—he'd pushed it, like an idiot, though that was the last way he'd describe himself to anyone. And then the ground had opened up and swallowed them whole. And that's when he noticed a distinct lack of bodies. "Wait a minute," he said, panic creeping into his voice. "Where's everyone else?"

"There ain't anyone else!" McGucket said cheerfully.

"No," Robbie said, bordering on hysteria now. "No no no but that means…

"It's just you and me, sonny boy!"

Robbie sunk to his knees with a cry of despair that echoed and bounced off the walls and startled some of the birds who were still above ground. He looked up and raised his hands. "Why me?" he wailed. "WHY ME?"

McGucket watched him with crossed arms in fascination until Robbie's voice gave out and he began to cough. "Got it all out of your system?" he asked.

Robbie just glared at him.

"Because it ain't so bad down here, you know," McGucket said. "We're alive, at any rate, and everyone else probably is, too. All that's left to do now is find 'em!"

"Yeah, or, you know, a way out," Robbie said.

"There's that optimism!" McGucket said. "You're right, there must be a way out." He pulled a messy candle out of his hat and lit it with a match from inside his beard.

Robbie stared. "Seriously?"

"What?" McGucket asked. "Doesn't everyone carry around candles with them?"

"Okay," Robbie sighed. "Let's just get this over with."

McGucket scampered along the path through the caves. Robbie stared idly at it, and wondered why there was such a convenient path here. Then he began to look at the walls, and realized that there were drawings. So there had been people here before. Well, duh, that statue obviously had been made to trick people into falling down below if they touched it. But what kind of sick person would make that kind of trap? And there was literally nothing and nobody else here; no animals, probably bugs but he hadn't seen them yet, no food or water or bones or sticks, other than the debris that had fallen with them. And if there was a ceiling above them, it seemed to be miles and miles away. All they could do was go straight, along the dirt path with stone walls on either side. Robbie tried to see what was on the caves whenever McGucket swung the light over them, but he quickly realized they were just codes and pictures that meant nothing to him. Probably some of the others could figure it out. The hours slowly crawled along, and Robbie sighed, never thinking he would miss that group so much. Even Dipper's face would be a welcome change from the old bearded lunatic's.

Eventually the candle wore out, and McGucket stared at it in horror. "That's all I've got," he said. "We're alone, in the dark, with no way out, and that's the only candle I've got!"

"Chill, Grandpa," Robbie said. "I've got a flashlight on my phone." He slipped the device in question out of his pocket and turned it on.

McGucket came over and peered at it. "Witchcraft!" he muttered hoarsely.

"What? No, dude, it's just a phone, don't pretend like you don't know what that is."

McGucket stared at it for a while before timidly reaching out and poking it, then drawing back his hand in fear. When nothing happened, he brightened up. "I survived!" He said. "This calls for a song! 'Oh, I come from Alabama with my raccoon on my knee…' "

As if Robbie wasn't irritated enough with his elderly companion, McGucket gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "tone-deaf." Robbie covered his ears and cried out miserably, "Oh, ugh, please stop! If I die down here I don't want to hear _that_ during my final moments!"

"Well, music ain't for everyone, I guess," McGucket replied. "All right, let's get to chit-chattin' instead. I don't think we've ever sat down and had a proper conversation."

He plopped himself down, and Robbie covered his face with his hand and gave a funny kind of whimpering moan. He then looked up at McGucket and said, "No, the point is to keep moving so we can get out of here. I'm just going to keep walking, and you can come or not."

"Sweet sassafras, you're right." McGucket stood back up and bounded along the path, laughing. "I must be getting old!" They continued in silence for a while, except for McGucket's funny whoops and chuckles made to no one and nothing in particular. Eventually he said, "That's a funny looking get-up you've got over your shirt, there."

"Oh, _my_ clothing's funny looking?" Robbie asked. "Out of the two of us, which one is wearing overalls that aren't even over anything?"

"So where'd you get it?" McGucket asked.

"Get what?"

"That." McGucket poked his hoodie.

"It was a present," Robbie muttered. "Why do you care?"

"Just making conversation, my young buck," McGucket replied. "And also it's got your symbol on it."

"My symbol?" Robbie looked down at the stitched-up heart logo on his hoodie. He remembered the peculiar dizziness he'd felt when seeing that logo on the zodiac wheel. He'd called it a "destiny hoodie," but hadn't really given any thought to it since.

"Who gave it to you?" McGucket persisted, uncharacteristically retaining his chain of thought.

"Just some girl. It was a birthday present, I think." Actually, though Robbie sort of had a fuzzy memory of that girl, he remembered the day very clearly. He'd pranked the school principal by spilling about a gallon of chocolate pudding on his head, and had gotten suspended. As an added punishment, his birthday party was postponed, and he'd spent the day alone in his room. His parents sent him out that evening to get the mail, and a girl from school walked up and handed him a present. It was the first one he'd gotten all day, besides the ones from his parents which he disregarded because they were always things like motivational posters and shirts with happy faces on them. He never knew why she gave it to him, especially since he didn't even know her name. All he remembered was that her eyes were…

"Purple," he said aloud.

"Beg pardon?" McGucket asked.

"The girl who gave me the hoodie," Robbie said softly, with awe in his voice. "She had purple eyes."

"Well, that's a coincidence," McGucket remarked. "Only person I've ever known with purple eyes is Violetta!"

Robbie looked at him, his own eyes the size of saucers. "Exactly."


	14. Chapter 14- Go Into the Light

Dipper had been tired enough to fall asleep pretty quickly, but there was only so much discomfort from lying on the ground that his body could handle before waking him up again. It wasn't so uncomfortable that he felt the need to get up, however. Besides, doing so might wake his companions up, and he knew neither of them would take kindly to that. He rolled on his back and stared up at what should have been the ceiling. Yup, still black, still nothing to see. The torch had gone out ages ago, of course. It occurred to Dipper that he probably had a flashlight on his phone, but a part of him sort of knew he'd landed on his phone when he fell, and that if he stuck his hand into his pockets now there'd be a crushed piece of machinery where his phone should be.

He stuck his hand in his pocket.

And there was a crushed piece of machinery where his phone should be.

He sighed and continued to stare at the…well, the upward direction. He lay there for a while, thinking about what they were doing. Seriously, WHAT were they doing? Violetta had claimed that she'd told them all she knew, but Ford still brought her into the basement and discussed their mission with her. They'd been days down there, discussing who knows what. It still all seemed so vague and fuzzy to Dipper. They didn't REALLY know what they were trying to do, did they? Ford had told him a little bit, but even he had seem unsure. He seemed to think it would make sense once they were there, a kind of I'll-know-it-when-I-see-it situation. That wasn't like him. He was usually like Dipper, he preferred to know things in advance and be prepared for anything that might happen. All anyone seemed confident of at the moment was that all ten of them were needed to stop Bill's dimension from getting through.

And now they didn't even have that. Great. Not to mention this fall down into who-knows-where would set them back awhile, even if everyone made it out alive.

Dipper felt sick as he thought again of Mabel. She _was_ alive, wasn't she? He'd know it if she wasn't. He didn't really believe Mabel's twin telepathy theory, but he did secretly believe that something— _something_ —would let him know if anything happened to her. He closed his eyes again, and after seeing swirling, fiery images that slowly morphed into Bill, holding Mabel, laughing at him, he sat up hurriedly.

So much for trying to sleep anymore.

"Dipper?" a quiet voice asked.

He winced. He hadn't thought just sitting up would rouse anyone. "Oh, I'm sorry, Pacifica, I didn't mean to—"

"Don't worry about it." He could only sort of see an outline of her, but that was enough to tell that she was sitting up as well. "I was awoken anyway by the sound of my dignity shattering."

Dipper snickered. "By sleeping on the ground? Please, I think it shattered when you wore a potato sack during Weirdmageddon."

"You jerk!" The insult was said in a hushed voice, much to her credit, but that didn't stop her from tossing a handful of dirt in his general direction. Dipper only snickered again.

"For your information, I _rocked_ that potato sack!" Pacifica said, and then fell silent again. "Dipper," she asked after a while. "Do you think we're ever going to get out of here?"

"I mean, it's not like we fell through a freak hole in the ground," Dipper said. "Well…okay, we did, but my point is that these were put here, intentionally, for whatever reason, and so that means there must be an exit. We'll be fine."

"It's just that _those_ people probably _planned_ to come down here, and brought food and water and sufficient lighting and stuff," Pacifica said. "And knew what they were doing. We're completely lost, with no supplies whatsoever."

"Well I wouldn't say _no_ supplies," Dipper said.

"But they'll _become_ no supplies, faster than we'd probably like."

"Yeah." It was hard to be an optimist for someone when you weren't even totally optimistic yourself. Dipper knew that he would have walked until his legs fell off until he found Mabel, but he also knew that if either of his companions fell before he did, there'd be nothing that could make him leave them. He could only earnestly hope they'd get out of there before this day was out.

"My parents are going to kill me if I don't die down here first," Pacifica said, almost to herself. "I didn't exactly tell them I was coming—they don't even know I'm friends with you guys, because they hate you so much."

"Thanks very much," Dipper said sarcastically.

"It's not _my_ fault; you know what they're like. Anyways, I told them I was going to get my nails done. I was supposed to have been back by now."

Dipper sighed. "I'm sorry, Pacifica," he said. "I'm sorry you were dragged into this whole mess, and I'm sorry you had to be cursed onto a stupid zodiac prophecy wheel. If you hadn't turned over a new leaf at that ghost-crashing gala, you probably wouldn't have been important enough to be on it."

"Wow, who's being insensitive now?" Pacifica asked. "But no, are you kidding? I strangely enjoyed that night, and I've had more fun with you guys than any time in my entire life—even when we're running from death. I never had any friends before; well, I had a dog once, but he…" She stopped. "Never mind." She was silent again for a minute, then ventured nervously, "Honestly, Dipper, I don't think I've even _liked_ anyone before, either, not _really_ liked them anyway, until…well until _you_."

Dipper felt something surge in his chest that he couldn't quite identify. "Wow," he said. "I'm not—exactly sure how to respond to that, but—"

"Ugh," Grunkle Stan moaned, as he woke up and felt the hard ground digging into his ribs. "Who puts rocks in a cave, seriously?" He grunted again, managing to push himself up as several bones cracked. "Gah, everything hurts."

"Good, then remember that feeling when you want to stop again, because now we have to get to Mabel before doing anything else." Dipper said firmly.

"Even breakfast?" Stan asked drily. "'Cause I was really looking forward to some eggs and bacon."

"Yeah, I'll get right on that," Dipper said. "Pacifica, you ready to go?"

"I don't know," she said stubbornly. "I don't think we were done talking. What'd you have to go and wake up for, old man?"

"No, no I think we were done," Dipper said hastily. He stood up and asked, "Grunkle Stan, I don't suppose you have a phone, do you?"

"Yeah, but it's at the Shack, so how does that help us?"

"Not a landline, Grunkle Stan! A cell phone! You know, one that might have a flashlight on it?"

"Nope, got nothing like that," Stan said. "How 'bout you, Princess?"

"If I did, don't you think I'd have called for help by now?" she asked coolly.

"Woah, someone's in a mood," Stan said. He pulled one of Mabel's extra sweaters out of his pack and sighed as he wrapped it around the torch. "I'm sorry, Sweetie," he murmured, as he lit it with his final match. "I really didn't want to have to do this."

"Let's _go_ ," Dipper said impatiently.

"Your sister isn't the only one that matters, you know!" Pacifica said, as they started walking.

"Yeah, well right now, she is," Dipper said. "Unless you have a family member that fell down with us, too?"

"No," Pacifica said. "No I most definitely do _not_."

Dipper rather suspected there was a double meaning in that statement, but he chose to ignore it. "Found any eggs and bacon yet, Grunkle Stan?" he asked, by way of changing the subject. "That's starting to sound pretty good right now."

"I'd tell you to eat your heart out," Pacifica muttered. "Only I don't think you've got one."

"Woah!" Dipper said, staring at her. "Are you mad at me because I didn't respond to…you know, what you said?"

"I don't know, Dipper, how would _you_ feel if you bared your soul to someone and they didn't even give you a proper response?"

"Right now finding my sister's the only thing I care about, okay? After finding her you can give me all the soul-baring you can think of, but not until then!"

"I'm beginning to see why my parents don't want me hanging around you!" Pacifica flashed back.

"Woah, woah, can it, you two," Stan said. "I can handle a good amount of fighting, but I prefer to observe it from a distance, and not have to be the net you two volley words over. Save it for the surface, okay? You may be teens, but I'm not afraid to discipline you!"

What might have happened next was anyone's guess, if they hadn't suddenly rounded a bend and seen a soft light in the distance. "Grunkle Stan!" Dipper said with hushed breath, pointing as if the others hadn't instantly seen it as well. "Look!"


	15. Chapter 15-The Ice Thaws

Ford leaned forward heavily, resting his hands on his knees, began taking a huge gulp of air and standing up. Then he began frantically digging at the dirt again.

"Grunkle Ford," Mabel said tiredly, sitting a few feet away with her fingers pressed to her face. "Grunkle Ford! That's not going to work. You've been digging for almost an hour, and you've only cleared a little bit. We don't know how far back that pile goes!"

"I have to try!" He said. "We don't really have a choice here!"

"Then _please_ let me help."

"No," he replied firmly. "If this pile comes tumbling down, I don't want you to be buried under it."

"Yeah, well, that goes both ways," she said. "Just stop. Don't waste time on that when you can probably think of something more efficient."

Ford decided to give in, and sank down in exhaustion beside his niece. To his surprise, he felt his niece's hands begin gripping and releasing his shoulders.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What, you've never had a massage before?" she asked. A second later she snorted. "No, apparently not. I can tell. You've got like a million years' worth of stress built up in here."

Ford didn't know what to say to that. "How'd you learn to do it?" he finally asked.

"It's not hard," she said. "It's something people just pick up. But it probably helps that I've had to do it to Dipper pretty much every day since the last time we were here. And I thought he was stressed before."

Ford was silent after that. If Mabel was finally acknowledging his existence, then he didn't dare to breathe for fear of messing that up. She hadn't said a word the entire time he was digging, up until the end when she asked him to stop. He guessed that not even a grudge would let her watch someone she loved suffer, but the attempt to ease his aching back was something she was voluntarily doing. He knew he needed to make things right with her before doing anything else. It was possible that they might be stuck here a while, and it was also possible that even if a different solution came to him, it could take a while to carry out. And he wasn't going to wait that long to hear his niece's cheerful prattle again.

When she eventually slid her hands off his shoulders and crossed her arms, he cleared his throat. "Thank you," he said.

"Don't mention it," she said, but there still was an edge to her voice. She picked the flashlight up from where Ford had tossed it when he'd begun to dig. She switched it back on and pointed it up, searching for a ceiling. When she saw none she let the light dance on the figures painted on the walls. "Know what any of them say?" she asked.

"Not many," he said. "I tried reading them when we were walking, but mostly it's a lot of stories and folklore that no doubt was current in their day."

"Anything about Bill?" she asked.

He looked quickly at her, but she was staring at the paintings with an indifferent look.

"Yes," he said slowly. "I saw at least one painting of him. All that was said next to it was 'beware the beast with just one eye.'"

"So nothing helpful," Mabel sighed. "I was hoping maybe there'd be directions or something. Or even a log that says what they were doing."

"Maybe there is," Ford replied. "But if so, I can't read it. It's a shame we're so far down…I would very much like to come back here and try to figure out the rest. Dipper probably is out there thinking the same thing."

"Well unfortunately for you guys, you've got a twin that is not going to let you come back here, ever," Mabel said. And then with a quaver in her voice she added. "At least…at least I _hope_ you do. And I hope we'll be in a position someday where seeing these walls isn't an option. I hope."

Timidly, for fear of the pain if she pulled away from him, Ford draped his arm over his shoulders, and slowly pulled her in to him. She fell onto his shoulder willingly, clutching him as if he might be the only family she had left. "What if they're dead, Grunkle Ford?" She whispered, her body beginning to convulse with sobs. "Or what if they make it out alive, but they spend the rest of their lives trying to find us? Or what if—"

"Hey," Ford said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "That's not going to happen, Mabel. None of that. This family has been through much worse, and we always come out on top. All right?"

"It's just…" Mabel sniffed. "Maybe them dying is my punishment. You know, for saying what I said."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," she answered, furiously trying to wipe her eyes faster than the flow of tears. "I—I said—hurtful things to you, saying you weren't fun, that you weren't trying to be a part of our lives…I _know_ that's not true, Grunkle Ford, for either you or Stan. But I said it anyway, and I was immediately punished afterwards."

"Mabel," Ford said, the pain for his niece completely overshadowing the pleasure that they were making up without any prompt from him, "Sweetie…"

Mabel threw her arms around his neck. "I'm so sorry, Grunkle Ford!" she sobbed, eerily reminiscent of when she was a twelve-year-old half her current height. "I'm so sorry for all those terrible things I said! And I said even more since we've been down here, but I _hate_ it, I _hate_ being mad at you, and I just want us to forgive and forget, like you said."

As Ford hugged her tightly, he felt such a wave of love for his little girl. Instead of anger building up in her that eventually came out in a torrent of words and emotions, like most people, she'd only had love in forgiveness build up in her until she could bear it no longer.

"Of course I forgive you, Sweetheart," he said. "You know I do, I apologized the minute we got here. Because every single one of us was to blame, and now every single one of us is being punished. But don't you see, Mabel, that Dipper and Stan are probably thinking us dying is _their_ punishment, and yet, here we are, still alive. They are too. I promise."

Mabel nodded and gave him what she hoped was a brave smile. "I'm sure they are," she said. "I mean, if wishful thinking is any help at all, then they've already found a way out by now."

Ford laughed, and ran his fingers through his hair. He wished he had her power of vulnerability, because again, he felt helpless at not being able to say all that he wanted. He wanted to tell her that her bravery inspired him. He wanted to tell her that her forgiveness was the best feeling in the world right now. He wanted to tell her that he could kick himself from here to Piedmont for all the harsh words he'd said to her above, but all he could manage was to gather her up in his arms again. And somehow, that was all she needed to understand his feelings. Mabel was amazing that way.

They were still in each other's embrace when they were startled to hear a scrabbling coming from the other side of the dirt wall, and then a soft crash as the wall came down. Ford pulled Mabel up and dragged her away from the sliding dirt, and then they both stared at it in shock.

McGucket poked his head through and jerkily swiveled his head from left to right. His eyes landed on Ford and Mabel, but he reacted neither to them nor the flashlight Mabel was shining in his face. "Fiddleford?" Ford gasped.

"Nope, wrong pile!" McGucket said cheerfully, and darted back the way he came.

"No wait, did someone just say your name?" a voice asked. Robbie stepped through the hole, and his eyes widened in surprise. Oh, thank the _friggin'_ gods. I no longer have to be alone with this nutjob."

"Robbie!" Mabel cried. She bounded forward and threw her arms around him.

Robbie squirmed in her grip. "Person…touching me…" he gasped.

"Oh, admit it, you're happy to see me," she said, unfazed.

"Wait, this means we've been going the wrong way," Ford said, disappointment in his voice. "Or you have."

"Well, we came to a fork in the road, actually," Robbie said. "Both blocked up. Old Man McCrazy over here dug through one, and now I guess he's trying the other."

"Seriously?" Ford asked. "He was able to dig through?"

Robbie nodded. "In about five minutes. Guess he picked that up from all the wildlife he's hung out with."

Mabel began giggling. "You've just been shown up by _McGucket_!" she crowed to her uncle.

"Sure, in _one_ area!" Ford protested. "Have I ever told you about my twelve PhDs?"

"Okay, could we maybe talk on the way?" Robbie asked. "I'm getting really hungry here, and I don't trust the food that this guy's been offering."

"Gladly," Mabel said, grabbing her great-uncle's hand and skipping through the hole. "I told you we were going the right way, Grunkle Ford!"

He grinned and playfully shoved her with his free hand. "You did not, either."


	16. Chapter 16-One of Us

**A/N: So I don't normally do this, but I've gotten some recent reviews that I want to respond to.**

 **Luty Malfoy: I already responded to you individually, but for anyone else who was thinking the same thing, the Journal 3 that Alex Hirsch released states that the journals were restored after Weirdmageddon, as was much of the damage that Bill caused. I do intend to put that in this story eventually, but I probably should have done it sooner to avoid confusion.**

 **Darth Becky 726: I just have to say I loved watching your reviews come in every few minutes! It was super fun and flattering to watch your progress, and I want to thank you for letting me go on that journey with you! You're right about the Avengers thing. Maybe I was subconsciously thinking about that. Or the Horcruxes, or the One Ring…yeah, I'm now realizing it's a pretty common plot device.**

Wendy had been raised by a lumberjack and was given apocalypse training every Christmas, but even she was getting exceptionally tired of walking. Soos had a lot of entertaining stories about the weird and mysterious things that had happened to him over the years, and that certainly helped to pass the time, but there's only so much of one person's voice you can listen to at a time. Even if that one person is someone you're very fond of.

So, during one pause between stories when Soos stopped for air, Wendy poked Violetta's shoulder. "How long you figure we've been walking?" she asked.

She shrugged. "It's well into nighttime now," she said. "But other than that, your guess is as good as mine."

"Is this the plan then?" Soos asked. "To keep walking for all eternity?"

"Oh, I think eternity will come sooner than you like if we don't find anything," Violetta said.

"But yeah," Wendy said. "We have to keep walking. It's our only hope of survival."

"Aw, come on dudes, lighten up," Soos said. "It's not so bad down here. Now the Bottomless Pit, that's a frightening place. I remember when Mr. Pines the original and Dipper and Mabel and I fell in…"

"Hold up, Soos, I've heard that one!" Wendy protested.

"Violetta hasn't."

"Yeah, and she hasn't gotten a chance to tell any stories of her own, either."

Soos' eyes got wide, and he pulled his cap off and gave a short bow. "My apologies, Violetta. I didn't realize I was hogging the spotlight."

"So?" Wendy asked, poking her companion's shoulder again. "Any tales of the bizarre?"

"Oh, sure, plenty," Violetta said. "But I mean…they're just low-key bizarre. Nothing like the two of you have been through."

"Well we know _that's_ not true," Wendy said with a grin. "You keep dropping bombshells on us. The motorcycle, the ray gun you carry on your person, the former time traveler thing? You must have seen _something_ the rest of us never have."

Violetta inwardly cringed, knowing Wendy was right. "Well," she said slowly, realizing there was no way out. "Once I was in a rowboat in the middle of a lake. The lake isn't there anymore, but it was a couple hundred years ago. I wasn't trying to find anything supernatural, because I didn't think there was anything special about that lake. I was just minding my own business, and then the next thing I know my boat was overturned and I was being dragged underwater!"

Soos gasped and stared at her, his attention completely grabbed. "Oh my gosh, what did you do? How did you survive?"

"Let her tell it, Soos!" Wendy laughed.

"I didn't see very much, because I was knocked out immediately after going under," Violetta continued. "But when I came to, I found that I was able to breathe, and that my legs had turned into a fish tail."

Soos gasped again, and Wendy nodded, impressed. "Mermaids," she said. "That's definitely something none of us have ever seen. Well, except maybe Ford."

"Yep," Violetta said. "I was lucky they didn't turn me into one of them, though, and instead only gave me the tail and gills. Because they were hideous. I mean, you hear all those stories about how beautiful mermaids are, and their voices certainly sounded melodious and haunting. But I guess sirens are the pretty ones, and mermaids are literally just fish people. Anyway, they said they weren't in the habit of keeping prisoners alive, but they said I was beautiful enough to perhaps be useful. They said if I would agree to lure humans out to the lake on a regular basis, they would spare my life."

"Of course they did," Wendy said disgustedly. "What is it with the creatures in this town?"

"I decided that agreeing and then later not following through with it was my best bet," Violetta said. "It worked at first. They released me, and gave me a potion that would change me back into myself once I got on land. But then at the last minute they decided to use another potion to see whether I was actually telling the truth or not. Of course I wasn't, and then didn't take too kindly to that. They started attacking me, and mermaids can be pretty vicious when they choose. The stories are right about _that_."

"Woah!" Soos cried in amazement. "Dude, you could have died!"

"I know," Violetta said feelingly. "If it hadn't been for Wilma…" She suddenly stopped and cleared her throat.

"Wilma?" Wendy asked.

"Just someone I knew back then," Violetta said breezily. "She rescued me is all. Now Soos, about that Bottomless Pit story…"

"Woah, hey," Wendy said. "Come on, man, that was a great story. Why'd you hold out on us?"

Violetta shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "You guys don't know me all that well yet. Why would you want to hear me talk about myself?"

"Because we're on an adventure that may end in death," Wendy said. "You bond with people that you adventure and nearly die with. Besides, if we do die, this is as well as we're going to get to know you. Of course we want to learn as much as possible about you, dude!"

"But I'm the outsider," Violetta reminded her.

Wendy frowned. "Yeah, you said that before, when we were discussing why you weren't affected by the statue," she said. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"You know…" Violetta began to wave her hands vaguely. "You've all been on adventures and close to death before. So your bond is already super strong. And all this time you've thought Gideon was your tenth symbol. To have a perfect stranger just walk in and disrupt all that…it just feels like an intrusion, you know?"

"Oh, yeah," Soos said. "I totally get it. It's like being a tenth wheel, right? You see all these people, some of whom have known each other forever, and they've battled zombies, and ghosts, and shapeshifters, and unicorns, not to mention surviving Weirdmageddon. And you show up not having been a part of any of that! Dude, I can't even imagine how misplaced you must be feeling."

He meant it in the kindest way of course, and Violetta knew that, but it didn't stop her face from twisting into a worried frown. Wendy saw it and, feeling that her race was insulted, turned furiously on Soos. "Dude!" She cried. "Do you even hear yourself? That was way out of line, man. I've never heard anyone so insensitive in my life, and I've worked for _Stan_ half my life. She can't _help_ it if she wasn't here for Weirdmageddon, or any of that other stuff! She's done her fair share of monster fighting, and she's probably seen more action than like, Pacifica, or Robbie even. She just hasn't happened to cross paths with us yet! But it's happened now, and she's one of us, you got that? She's _one of us._ "

Violetta quickly darted her eyes back and forth between the two of them in surprise, and Soos stared at Wendy with the same feeling. Then he looked at Violetta with so much pain that, even though she'd been flattered that Wendy stuck up for her, she almost wished the redhead hadn't.

"Aw dude, I'm way sorry," he said sincerely. "I had no idea it came out sounding that way. I was only trying to say I get it."

"No, I know," Violetta said. "It's cool, Soos, don't worry about it."

He smiled at her, and she returned it. Wendy, feeling much appeased, began focusing on the road ahead again. Suddenly her eyes widened and she gasped. "Hey, guys, check it out!" She said, pointing to the light ahead of them. "I think we're gettin' somewhere!"

All three rushed towards it, and they stepped through a sort of entryway to a massive hall-like cave. They were definitely still underground, but here at least there was a large basin filled with a fire burning in the center of the room, which was casting the light. All around the room were similar entryways which presumably led to other paths of the labyrinth. But the most exciting thing to see, and one that made their faces light up with complete euphoria, was the sight of Dipper, Stan and Pacifica standing near the basin.


	17. Chapter 17- Two Groups Become One

**Chapter 17- Two Groups Become One**

Though Robbie was pressing his hands to his ears as hard as he could, he still could hear McGucket's mindless prattle. McGucket had discovered that their situation was a perfect time for him to unload some of his tall tales, because his audience had no way of escaping them. And Robbie couldn't cover his ears properly even if that _had_ worked, because he had to continue shining his phone in front of them. He vaguely wondered what they'd do if his battery ran out before they got to wherever it was they were going.

Robbie was really beginning to regret telling the old man about his hoodie. McGucket hadn't been quite as impressed with the coincidence as the teen was, but he said it reminded him of a time something similar happened to him. He'd been sitting on a bed in a very white room, and a nice man in a lab coat had given him the cast on his arm as a birthday present.

"That was a doctor's office," Robbie had said. "And that was a doctor, putting a cast on your broken arm."

"Oh, no, it was destiny I tell ya!" McGucket had proclaimed. "Because just a day previously, I'd seen that _very same man_ walking down the street!"

And one tale had led to another, and now everything Robbie had been dreading about being this guy's only companion was coming true.

"And then I sez to myself 'McGucket,' sez I, 'you have got to start holding your own in fights with the man what lives in your washtub! You're never going to get anywhere in life if you let him walk all over you like a hyena on a baby goat!' And then I sez back to myself—"

"Dude!" Robbie cried! "I couldn't care less about this! And I'm gonna go as insane as you are if I have to hear another one of your stupid fantasies. So just shut it, okay?"

McGucket shut his mouth, and gave Robbie a sideways look. "You youngsters should have more respect for your elders, ya know," he said, nodding sagely.

"Yeah, well, find me an elder whose actually still got a brain in his head, and I'll respect that one," Robbie replied.

"No you won't!" McGucket said cheerily. "You teenagers are all the same, with your…your shoulder pads and…leg warmers."

Robbie could only stare and breathe out a confused " _What?"_

"Hey, lookee here!" McGucket cried. He'd suddenly bounded forward to where the cave let out into a huge sort of mine. Robbie followed and gave a shriek of terror when he saw that there path had suddenly become a tiny little strip attached to one wall, and on the other side were miles and miles of emptiness to fall into. There were other paths leading out from the walls further below, and old carts and bridges, but they had clearly been unused for years upon years. It didn't take genius or even sanity to realize that a fall from this path was a fall one wouldn't be coming back from.

"Great," Robbie said. "Just great."

"What should we do?" McGucket asked. "Turn back?"

"NO." Robbie was sure of that, at least. "We can't. There's nothing back there. We'll die anyway, so we may as well die trying to…live, I guess. But um…you go first."

The reason for this request was not cowardice so much as that Robbie didn't trust a bumbling old man to not run into him from behind. But McGucket seemed much too terrified to continue his giddy bouncing. He tiptoed slowly up to the path, and sucked in his breath as he pressed himself against the wall. Then he began to inch along the path, never taking his eyes off the nothingness below. As much as Robbie wanted to be annoyed with him, he found himself taking the same precautions, except that he kept his eyes planted on his feet, making sure they didn't stray further from the wall than they needed to.

And thus in this way they painstakingly made their way across the chasm. They'd made it about three quarters of the way there when a bat flew by and McGucket cried, "Help! It's my mother-in-law, come back to haunt me!" before losing his balance, and slipping off the path.

Robbie's heart stopped for a moment, even though he'd been quite sure this entire time that something like this would happen. It would have just defied logic if they'd actually made it across with no mishaps. But when he could still hear McGucket's cries of panic quite near him, he dared himself to peek over the cliff.

There was another path just below that McGucket had fallen onto, but even this cliff-edge was one he was barely hanging onto.

"Okay, just hang on a sec!" Robbie cried, looking desperately around for anything that he could toss down. Failing that, he began patting himself down to see if he had anything on his person. But he already knew he didn't.

He peeked back over the edge. Okay, he could maybe jump down and pull McGucket up. It wasn't that far down; they'd probably be able to climb back up to their original path.

Knowing he wouldn't do it if he dwelt too long on it, Robbie jumped. He felt his heart come right up in his throat as he skidded on the dirt, and his life flashed before his eyes as he thought he might slip off. But he didn't, and just leaned against the wall, eyes shut, clutching his chest and breathing heavily.

"We're doomed!" McGucket cried. "We're doomed!"

"Calm down, I'm going to pull you up now," Robbie said, rolling his eyes. He reached down and grabbed the bandaged fingers, and marveled at how easy it was to pull his companion up. He was literally just a bag of bones. That made it much easier for Robbie to virtually toss him back up to the path, before climbing back up himself. He again leaned against the wall heavily, and began moaning melodramatically.

"You…you saved me!" McGucket said in awe.

"What? Oh, yeah, well, no biggie," Robbie said, fearing for the mushy scene that would likely follow.

"No," McGucket said. "It was a biggie. I know you don't like me, my boy. It would have been the easiest thing in the world to let me fall, and claim that you couldn't get down there without breaking your own neck."

Robbie stared at him. "Dude, I'm not _that_ dark!" he said.

"It wouldn't have been wrong," McGucket said. "It would have been self-preservation." He clapped the teen on the shoulder. "Thank you, Robbie."

Robbie narrowed his eyes at him in confusion. "Sometimes you're smart, sometimes you're dumb," he said reflectively. "I can't keep up!"

McGucket just cackled, and made his way along the rest of the path much more swiftly than he had been. Robbie followed suit, and when they came back to the familiar walled caves that they'd been walking in, they found another disheartening sight.

There was a fork in the road, but both ways were blocked off by a pile of dirt and rocks.

"Well, that's that," Robbie said. "It'll take us weeks, maybe months, to clear those piles away. And even then we wouldn't know which one is the right…"

He stopped when he saw McGucket march right up to one of the piles, and began digging. And Robbie could only stare in open-mouthed astonishment as McGucket dug the pile away in a matter of moments. He hadn't recovered enough to move even when the old man had finished, and had popped throught.

"Fiddleford?" Robbie heard someone say. Was that…Ford?

"Nope, wrong pile!" McGucket said, and, upon coming back through, started clearing away the other pile.

"No, wait!" Robbie said, hope flooding his chest, which was a very unfamiliar thing for him. "Did someone just say your name?" He went to see for himself, and had never been so happy to have a flashlight shined in his face. "Oh, thank the _friggin_ ' gods. I no longer have to be alone with this nutjob."

He was even happy to have Mabel cry "Robbie!" and throw her arms around him, though of course he didn't dare let that show. "Person…touching me…"

"Oh, admit it, you're happy to see me," she replied.

"Wait, this means we've been going the wrong way," Ford said, as Robbie looked at him for the first time. "Or you have."

"Well, we came to a fork in the road, actually," Robbie said. "Both blocked up. Old Man McCrazy over here dug through one, and now I guess he's trying the other."

"Seriously?" Ford asked. "He was able to dig through?"

Robbie nodded. "In about five minutes. Guess he picked that up from all the wildlife he's hung out with."

Mabel began giggling. "You've just been shown up by _McGucket_!" she crowed to her uncle.

"Sure, in _one_ area!" Ford protested. "Have I ever told you about my twelve PhDs?"

"Okay, could we maybe talk on the way?" Robbie asked. "I'm getting really hungry here, and I don't trust the food that this guy's been offering."

"Gladly," Mabel said, and as she began chatting with her uncle, Robbie strode through to the other pile that had now been dug out. He didn't know how relieved _they_ felt about finding some other members of their party, but he himself felt much happier. Ford was smart and would be able to get them out of anything, and Mabel's company was going to be so much nicer than McGucket's. But as Robbie looked at McGucket, whooping and bounding ahead of them again, he found it didn't bother him as much. Maybe that old coot wasn't as deranged and irritating as he'd first thought.

Of course that could just be the sudden glimmer of hope talking.

They didn't have much further to travel, as it turned out. Before long they saw a light at the end of the tunnel, and hastily and eagerly ran for it. They stepped through into a giant hall, but before anyone could really take notice of anything there, Mabel caught sight of the rest of their friends. And one cry, one word of joy that made everyone happier upon hearing it, came from her throat as she rushed towards them.

" _Dipper!"_


End file.
